Star Fox: Perspectives: Retrospective
by Seano95
Summary: The tale of James McCloud's final mission. As friends turn to enemies and legends are made, James struggles to master fatherhood and fate. Please review. 16th chapter is finally up!
1. Chapter i

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 8:00 AM.

_A ship..._

_Screaming..._

_Silent noise..._

_A madman laughing._

_And_-"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddd!"

Soft long grass framed the turquoise sky. James was suddenly painfully aware of all the reasons not to take a nap in the grass, such as roots and stiff joints. He groaned, and went to sit up, but once again "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad! Where are you?" rang out, and he froze.

_'I know that voice'_ he thought to himself, and he chanced a quick peek above the grass.

He nearly laughed at what he saw. A young fox, fresh out of pup-hood but not quite an adult, was snaking through the grass in the other direction.

'Still just a pup' He thought, and began silently moving up behind him.

The fox half-stood, looked around, and whispered, "Where'd he get to?"

Then James pounced. "Gotcha!" he yelled, as he bowled over the youngster and pinned him to the ground.

The fox cursed and struggled, but James was heavier, and he cuffed him soundly round the ears.

"That's enough of that Fox. Now, do you give up?"

"Alright already! Lemme up!" He exclaimed, and then James rolled off him and got up.

Fox got up slower, rubbing his skull and said, "How do you always win?"

James laughed and replied "Practice. Now, why'd you wake me up?"

"I want breakfast."

"Then make it. I won't stop you."

"But I can't cook!"

"And?"

Fox sighed and said, "Can you PLEASE make me breakfast, PLEASE?"

James stared at him long enough for him to start fidgeting, then relented with a smile and "Alright, you go ahead and get everything out, I'll catch up".

Fox smiled, than he was off and racing, already a tan spot in the distance.

James watched him go and smiled wistfully. To be young again.

At around the same time, Peppy Hare, pride of the cornerian army, was snoozing face down on a table-full of schematics.

The clock was ticking, and it was daylight behind the tightly drawn curtains.

As Peppy hovered between the two extremes of asleep and awake, a large and unstable pile of paper wobbled, shifted, and fell right on top of his head.

He snapped upright and reached for his blaster, but it wasn't there and no one was trying to show him what his entrails looked like.

He sighed and slouched back down, but it was hopeless, he'd never get back to sleep now.

Since there was nothing else for it, he had another look at the schematics. They were for a type of advanced fighter he, James and Pigma were working on, codenamed the Arwing. That is, he and James worked on it, and Pigma went off somewhere, got drunk and then scored. They were encountering a few problems with the engine system, namely a build-up of an electromagnetic residue called FactorG, and it posed some major problems if they were unable to reduce it's interference with the Ba(boost) Bb(brake) and Li(lasers) systems.

He sighed again and picked up the phone. He dialled James number and waited.

Click.

_"Yeah?"_

"Hey James. It's me, Peppy."

_"Oh. Hi."_

"You were working on the Arwing last night, weren't you?"

"Actually I was. I made a breakthrough too. You know the problems we were having with FactorG?"

"Yeah. What did you do?"

_"Well, I-"_ There was a loud crash on the other end of the receiver, a clatter, then muffled voices.

"James? James! Talk to me James!"

There was silence.

Peppy jumped up, grabbed his blaster out of his bedroom, and was out the door franticly juggling his keys, the phone and his weapon when Fox picked up the receiver and said _"Hello? Peppy?"_

He breathed a long sigh of relief and slumped against his transport door.

"Oh thank god. What happened?"

"I was cleaning up breakfast when you called and I dropped a dish. Why? Something wrong?"

Peppy looked at his sweaty paw, loosely grasping his charged blaster and burst out laughing.

_"What? What is it?"_

"Oh nothing. Could you put your father back on?"

_"Yeah sure. **Daaaaadd!**"_

A brief pause, then:

_"Peppy?"_

"Don't you go scaring me like that!"

"Oh relax. It's not like anyone is after me."

"Yeah? I've heard all this stuff about Dr. Andross being at large again, and planets being attacked."

_"That stuff is light-years away, get over it. Beside, don't you want to hear about my breakthrough?"_

"Oh right! What gives?"

"Well, I was thinking about how FactorG can be attracted to endothermic magnetism, and I started thinking about making a G-Diffuser..."

So James bragged, told Peppy off for falling asleep on the table again, got told off for falling asleep outside again, and the day wore on.


	2. Chapter ii

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 8:30 PM.

The Alpha Centuri outpost was a quiet place. At least, in the rural, farming part. In the twenty years since it had been established, it had become a refuge for the less reputable half of society, who had built up the inner suburbs to become microcities. These concrete towns of disrepair and sleaze had therefore, never had a chance of not being Pigma's favourite places.

Pigma ran down the street in the pouring rain. He stopped in the eave of some guy's doorway and caught his breath, watching the street. It was very easy to get lost in these places, so he was confident that he had lost his perusers.

The problem was, these people couldn't take a joke. He's late with a payment, they come knocking, he tells them what he thinks of their boss and they miss the punch line. But, that was a problem that could take a ticket and get in line. He had bigger fish to fry. Apparently James had finally finished his stupid project and wanted Pigma to test it out. He had sent the sim he had been given back to his home computer, and now he had to make it back without getting rolled.

Pigma's musings were cut short there though, as footsteps and voices were suddenly audible above the drumming rain.

He swore quietly and moved deeper into the shadows.

"Where the hell did he get to?" asked one of the cloaked figures.

There was general muttering, but no one cried out and there was no sudden loss of life, so Pigma got his tools out quietly and started working the lock.

"Oh boy, Big A is gonna have our asses on plates." said one, but he was immediately punched over by the biggest one there.

"Nobody's getting served if we catch this guy, so get off your lazy asses and split up. He can't of gone far."

At that point, Pigma heard the lock click, but unfortunately, so did one of his perusers.

As Pigma gently eased the door open, one of the slower idiots said, "Did anyone else hear that?"

As they all started to look in the general direction of the doorway, with perhaps the worst timing in history, the owner of the premises switched his front light on.

Pigma's gaze shifted between the stupefied gaze of the ferret that owned the place and the equally vacant glares of the assorted thugs, then he was moving.

He bolted indoors and slammed the door shut, feeling some satisfaction from the meaty thuds that sounded as people charged the door headlong. His victory was short lived though, as the owner had regained control of his legs, and was heading in the direction of the phone. The phone meant police and that wasn't good.

In a flash of inspiration, he dashed down the hallway toward the window.

Enroute, he grabbed a heavy paperweight off a table and pegged it full force at the window. It was still breaking when Pigma jumped through. He landed on his feet in a shower of glass sustaining many small cuts, but he didn't have time to worry about that. He had just broken into a dead end street, and there were people already running down the only exit. So instead, he started running up the fire scaffold opposite the new back door.

Halfway up, the rules changed.

Pigma was about to climb his fifth flight of stairs when a blaster shot zapped past. These guys were trying to kill him! He made it to the top of the scaffold, and ran out on to the roof, looking for a way out. There wasn't one.

"I'm not having a very good time of this." he remarked to no one in particular, and he went for the next building, dodging random shots. He leapt forward and for one heart stopping moment he was flying through the air. Then he landed heavily, rolling to the ground.

Badly winded, he crawled behind a chimneystack and waited.

"! Did you see that?"

"He just jumped!"

"Well follow him!"

"After you."

"No way! I'm amazed he made it."

"Well someone has to try."

"Ummmm... Lets go around the long way."

"Fine. But hurry up! Lets go! Move it!"

And with that they were gone. Pigma smiled to himself.

By the time they got there, he was long gone.

When he got home, he bolted the door tight, attended to his various cuts and scrapes and collapsed in bed.

When he came to, the clock said **4:30PM**.

He groaned and then got up. While in the midst of boiling water for a coffee, he noticed his computer had 'Do a mail call!' flashing in the corner.

"Oh right, James's stupid thing." he mumbled.

He booted up the computer, and ran the attachment called 'Lylat Wars'. James and his stupid names.

It came up with a cockpit view of a training simulator used by the cornerian army. He zoomed out to a 'chase' view, and he saw the arwing. It handled like a dream , it was fast, it was amazing and agile.

He reached the end of the 'on rails' mode and hit a new piece of programming that had been inserted by James named 'all range mode'. Here the arwing really came into its own. It extended its wings and sacrificed speed for insane handling.

Dogfights became walks in the park. It was poetry in motion.

After he had finished the sim, he wrote his first polite letter in his life.

_'Dear James,_

You have created something beautiful. I cannot help to build it, as I have many pressing engagements, but I would be honoured to fly it.

_Pigma'_

James leant back and chuckled. It would have taken Pigma a thesaurus, spell check and many hours to write that.


	3. Chapter iii

Unknown Location. 1:00am./Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 5:00PM.

_In the dark, in a cave, on a planet few had ever heard of, a dark figure waited. He waited, as he always had, and he watched. He watched an old computer screen. He watched as_ The largest cloaked figure rammed one of his followers against a wall. The leader watched him slump to the floor. He turned around, still spoiling for a fight, but no one leapt forth. Feeling considerably calmer, he surveyed the wreckage that had been his hideout, and contemplated the chain of events that had lead to him being in this situation.

His name was Grey. Last names weren't important. Those that needed to attach meaning to everything called him many things. Some called him Grey Mist. Some,

Grey Dawn. The rest called him Grey Death. He threw off his ripped and torn cloak, to reveal his powerful wolf form. His fur was grey; the pads of his feet and hands were grey. Even his eyes were grey. He found others couldn't look directly into his eyes without becoming very uncomfortable, an attribute he used to his advantage.

He leant up against the wall and remembered.

It had started a month ago. He had been on Corneria, at 'The Watering Hole' (it was his favourite place to get hammered) drinking himself stupid again, when he had been approached by a hooded figure who had offered him a job. Not in the mood for working for anyone and very drunk, he had told him to leave him alone and go himself. Perhaps it hadn't been the smartest thing he had ever done, because the next thing he remembered was waking up on the floor of a dark room with his paws tied behind his back and some nice new electric burns on the back of his neck. The person had come and untied him, and had apologised for any inconvenience, then had offered him the job again. Knowing better than to refuse, he had agreed. He had been shown the ropes of an underground organization called Silent Night. The people there had been his kind of people, and he had warmed up to his new employment. He had quickly risen through the ranks, and had been given an assignment, which no other could be trusted with. He and a small group of incompetent grunts had been shipped to the Alpha Centuri Outpost and completely forgotten about. They had never even received any orders.

Eventually, they heard that there had been a crackdown on organised crime in Corneria and Silent Night had been disbanded. They had been hiring out their muscle to survive when Grey had met the same guy who had originally recruited him, and had been given one last job. Capture Pigma Dengar and learn about the 'Arwing', whatever that was. He had been given a name too. Big A. They had broken into a loan sharks apartment and found Pigma's details. The apartment listed wasn't his, but they had literally run into him on the way back, though he had managed to elude capture. There had been growing concern at what this 'Big A' guy would do to them, and they had ended up blaming Grey. They had tried to attack him for 'betraying' them, and he was staring at the result.

He decided to get out of there before the cops came, and was about to leave when his mobile began to ring. He started, but then he relaxed, as no one could possibly know about the mess he had made yet. He answered his phone, but before he could even say hello, slow clapping cut him off.

_"Very good. I do love a good fight."_ said a cold, dry voice.

Grey decided to try and bluff his way out of a jail sentence, and replied

"Fight? What fight? Who is this anyway?"

This time the voice was amused, as it said _"You should be proud of your handiwork, it's quite impressive. I highly doubt that I could beat a dozen men senseless at the same time."_

Grey decided that whoever it was, it wasn't a cop, so he might as well try to extract some information from him.

"You still haven't told me who you are." He stated.

The voice replied _"Oh, how rude of me. I haven't introduced myself yet. Where are my manners." _He paused for a moment then said _"You may call me 'Big A' or 'Boss'. I imagine that you would go with 'Boss', as you don't look as stupid as the idiots that litter the floor around you."_

Grey was worried now. Whoever this 'Boss' guy was, he could see every move he made. "Alright. I suppose that means that you want me to work for you, 'Boss'."

_"You already work for me."_ said Boss.

"Oh do I," said Grey, in an angry tone. "Last time I was told that, I ended up here."

_"You don't need to worry about something like that happening again."_ Said Boss. _"In fact, I'm making sure that you don't get abandoned again. If you would care to step outside, you would see that there is a medium side fighter called a 'Wolven' on the kerb. It will unlock at the sound of your voice, and there is a full instruction manual on the seat. I need you to practice flying that for a few months."_

Grey had always wanted to be a pilot, but he was still wary. "What's the catch?" He asked, and Boss laughed.

"I need you to destroy James McCloud, Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar."


	4. Chapter iv

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 9:00AM.

Peppy had moved into James's house indefinitely. They had both immediately told

Fox not to bother them, gone down to James's workshop and bolted the door. That

had been three weeks ago. They only came out for food and sleep.

Fox was bored. Extremely bored. Under the rather strict boundaries of 'stay on the property and don't bother us', Fox had been going domestically insane for three weeks now. At first it had been great, no more Dad breathing down my neck, sleep in, stay up late. He had beaten every videogame he owned twice. He re-explored every nook and cranny of the farm. He watched T.V till his eyes were sore. He finally had a general idea of what the hell was going on in most of the soapies. In desperation, he started doing housework. He caught up on his homework and began counting down the days till the end of the holidays. He read every book in the house, including James's extensive mechanics section. Then he supercharged James's transport. The list of things to do grew ever shorter, until Fox was reduced to sitting on the stairs in front of the locked door, wondering.

It was in that very place that Fox was sitting when a transport pulled up in the driveway. Fox, bored stupid, only realised what the noises meant when a voice echoed indistinctly through the house.

He jumped up and took the stairs three at a time. He didn't care if it was bad news!

He opened the door and came face to face with a surprised looking Pigma. "HI

PIGMA HOW ARE YOU WHAT DO YOU WANT I'LL GO GET DAD WAIT HERE!!!" He yelled, and he was off again.

"That Fox has waaaay to much energy," Pigma said to no one in particular. He went inside and noticed some signs of cabin fever. For one, the house was immaculate. James's house was never clean. Some one had moved the computer out into the lounge room. There were piles of books everywhere. But before he could have a look around, James and Peppy came out of the hall.

"Hey guys. Jeez, you look like ," said Pigma. And it was true. Neither of them looked like they had had much sleep.

"Hi Pigma," said James and Peppy together.

James continued on his own. "I'm glad you could make it. What with your pressing engagements and all."

Pigma laughed nervously. "Yeah, about that," he said. "I've finally sorted everything out, and I've payed off all my debts. So I'm here to help."

"Great," said Peppy. "We'll run you through what we've got so far."

As they were moving piles of books off the couch, Pigma asked, "So what's with

Fox anyway? He was a bit... weird."

James cringed and sat down. "Ahhh. Well, he was very excited. I've kinda been ignoring him for a while."

"A while?"

"Um... what's the date? Oh. That would mean... three weeks."

Pigma stared at James. "No wonder he looked crazy."

"Yeah. Probably should of payed more attention to him."

"So where is he now?"

"I asked him to go clean himself up. He looked like a mess."

Fox quietly crept down the stairs. He looked slightly less dishevelled, but he looked very uncomfortable. The cause of this being the slightly ajar door. Fox stopped, and pushed it open slowly, so it wouldn't squeak. It turned out to be a blast door; it's half-a-foot-thick metal centre a testament to how cool whatever was down there would be. Fox hesitated. This was the one place in the universe he had been specifically forbidden to go. This was the first time he had ever seen it left open. He'd get in a huge amount of trouble for going down there. But he might never get another chance to see what was down there. The twin evils of regretting not doing it for the rest of his life and possible death waged war.

Finally, he made up his mind, and slowly started moving into the dark. Fox made his way down a short stretch, and then the path turned right. There was a long steep staircase, very steep in fact, and it curved around out of sight. He took one step, then another, and another. He stopped again at the end of the light, and was debating wether or not to go back and get a torch, when the unthinkable happened. The light cut out; there was a heavy bang, a click, then nothing.

Fox tried not to panic. First, he reached out and touched the wall. He could feel it, but he couldn't see it. Same deal with the other wall. He couldn't see his hand in front of his nose. He could, however, feel air moving. It was coming from down below. That meant there was a source of air down there, and that meant a way out. From the sounds of it, the other door had been locked, so he started moving again. After forever (about two minutes), Fox saw a light. He moved forward, and came out into a small room. The light came from a few blue LED's arranged in a circle around a small hole in the wall. And at the end of the room, another blast door.

This door was firmly closed, so Fox was officially screwed. He slumped against a wall and groaned. _'Great,' _he thought. _'I've come all this way and now I'm gonna get flattened for nothing.'_

As he sat there, something flashed at him. He sat up straight and had a look around, but he couldn't see anything. He slumped back down; and-There it was again! This time he lowered himself down slowly, and when he saw the light, he stopped. The ambient light in the room was reflecting off something shiny in the hole. He got up and had a look, but the LED's stopped him from seeing anything. Out of curiosity, he put his eye right up to the hole. There was a strong blue flash of light, and he cried out as he fell back. Half blinded, he looked up at the hole, only to see that the LED's had gone red.

A tiny, quiet voice said _"Identity confirmed. Fox McCloud. Access granted."_

And with that, the door opened.

"Cool! An eye scanner!" Exclaimed Fox to no one in particular, and he eagerly went through the door.

He stepped out into a fox's dream. He was in a huge room, and computer monitors lined the walls. The floor was literally covered with bits and pieces, except for a few clean bits which functioned as paths. As he watched, the lights came on and revealed the focus of his father's attention. A medium size fighter was half built in the middle of the room. Although it was mostly just the frame, it still looked extremely cool. Fox spotted a primary laser, a twin laser and a laser cannon, along with a compartment for portable fusion bombs. What ever it was, it was packing big-time. He ran up for a closer look, and touched it gingerly. Despite being half built, it was rock solid. As he looked closer, he saw the word 'ARWING' stencilled on the side. He lifted up the side panel and had a look inside. From the looks of it, only the cockpit and weapons were functioning, but the engine was something else. It looked really big; it must have been strong enough to move a house. It would have to be twice as powerful as the standard issue fighter engine. How that was possible was beyond Fox. What mattered most, however, was that someone had been testing the weapons system, and had left the firing range set up. He had to try that.

Meanwhile, James was still trying to explain what endothermic meant to Pigma.

"Ok. Uhh... Well, when you light a match, it gets hot, right?"

Pigma was struggling, but he got that. "Yeah?"

"Well, That's called exothermic."

"And?"

"Endothermic is the opposite."

"So, endothermic is... un-burning a match?"

James sighed, and was about to try again when the ground shook. Well, convulsed is more the word.

He picked himself up off the floor, and dusted himself off. "Everyone alright?"

He asked.

"Yeah. Just. Dandy. Now get this thing off me!" said Pigma's voice, from underneath a fallen bookshelf.

With the help of a dazed Peppy, he lifted the shelf off of Pigma. He was no worse for wear, and it looked like nothing else was damaged. _'Oh well,'_ he thought. _'That bookcase had had a lean anyway'_. One he had established that no one was hurt, Pigma said "I thought you didn't get earthquakes here."

"Well no," said James. "We're nowhere near a fault line. Something else must have-"

He stopped dead. "Fox!"

No answer.

He tried again. "Foooox! Are you there?"

James ran to Fox's bedroom. Nothing. He checked the field, the study. Fox wasn't anywhere. James racked his brains, trying to remember when he had last seen Fox. He had told him to go clean himself up, and... **he had left the blast door open.**

He ran for the blast door. The blast had been the right size for a bomb. If he had been unprotected when the blast went off, he'd be a pile of ash by now. He could be hurt. He could be dead. James almost tore the door off it's hinges. He raced down the stairs, blinded by smoke and soaked by the numerous sprinklers. That meant the second door was open. Oh god, why did he program Fox's data into the scanner? A million thoughts raced through his head, and he almost knocked Fox right off his feet. Without stopping to think or let Fox say a word, he grabbed him and hoisted the soaking, complaining bundle of fur over his shoulder. He immediately started running back up the stairs and didn't stop until he hit carpet.

"Ow! Hey! Stop! Ow! Dad! I'm fine! Ow!" complained Fox, as James placed him on the ground and checked him for injuries.

"Oh thank god your alright! Oh, I'm so glad! I'll never let you out of my sight again!" Exclaimed James, and he hugged Fox hard.

"Dad!" Yelled Fox, as he struggled. "Your... _Crushing_... Me..."

"Oh, right." Said James, and he let Fox sit up. "What the hell happened down there!?" He yelled, suddenly remembering what Fox had done.

Now it was time for Fox to do some quick thinking. "Well uh... You left the door open, and uh... I wanted to see what was down there... and..."

"And?"

"Well... I was halfway down when you shut the door, so I kept going..."

"And?"

"I uh... got in, and there was the Arwing..."

"And!?"

"Well... I kinda decided to test out the weapons system."

"You WHAT!!!!?"

"It's not how it sounds! I got in the cockpit and ran the combat sim, and I got carried away and fired a bomb!" Said Fox quickly.

"YOU FIRED A BOMB IN A GOD-DAMN CAVE!" James screamed!

Peppy and Pigma were at the doorway now, so Fox became less worried about instant death. James noticed too, and he calmed down considerably.

"I'm ok though!" Said Fox. "I was in the cockpit, so I was fine."

James sighed. "Alright. No harm done then. I probably shouldn't have ignored you for the last few weeks too. I just got caught up in the project."

He paused, and Fox thought he was off, when he said: "Because of that, you'll only have to scrub the whole workshop from top to bottom and carry all the stuff up here to air it out."

Fox's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding!"

James hushed him. "Hear me out. Once your done, you can help us out with the Arwing."

"Really? Cool! Thanks dad!"

"It's alright. Now go have a shower, you stink of smoke."

Fox got up, thanking James profusely, and went to have a shower.

James sighed, and stood up. "Was I too soft on him?" He asked Peppy.

"No, not at all. Have you even been in that workshop? It's massive! He'll be cleaning it for ages!"


	5. Chapter v

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 2:00 PM.

"Can I at least take a break?"

"No. Now start scrubbing."

Fox grumbled and complained, but he complied. He was wearing pink rubber gloves and an apron, his tail was tied back, and he was down on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor. He had been cleaning for what seemed like hours, and he was nearly done.

James and Peppy were above ground, winching various pieces of equipment up through the hole Fox had blown in the roof, and Pigma was sitting back and making sure that Fox did the work.

Fox's back was sore, his hands were all wrinkly, and the only breaks he had been allowed to take were to get the adults more lemonade. Speaking of which…

"Hey Fox? Guess what?"

"What?" Fox asked flatly.

"I'm out." Said Pigma, and he shook an empty glass. "So you can take a break now. And bring a jug down."

"Great. Thanks." Said Fox, and he snatched the glass and stormed off.

"Stupid Pigma, making me clean the stupid floor with the stupid sponge. Why not use the hose? Or the pressure cleaner? Why do I have to scrub the whole place down? Stupid adults." He muttered to no one in particular as he climbed the stairs.

He slammed a jug down on the kitchen bench and filled it up, then went to his room. Screw Pigma.

He took off the cleaning clothes and flopped down on his bed. He grabbed his mobile off the bedside table. He flipped it open and was greeted by a cheery female voice.

"You have 42 missed calls."

"Wow. Someone actually wants me." Fox remarked to no one in particular. "Missed call ID?"

"_Caller unknown."_

"When was the last call?"

"_7 minutes ago."_

"Redial." He said, and he turned on the loudspeaker.

_Ring, Ring, Ring-Click._

"_Hello?"_

"Hi, I'm returning multiple missed calls from this number, may I ask who's speaking?"

"_Fox? You furry idiot! It's me, Falco!"_

"Falco? Why'd you call me so many times?"

"_Because I'll be at your place in 15 minutes!"_

"What?"

"_Remember? Your school holidays end two days after mine begin, and we agreed to catch up."_

"Oh yeah. I never did tell dad. I'd better warn him."

"_You mean he doesn't know?"_

"No. Why?"

"_Cause I got together with everybody and we decided to have a group holiday! We chartered a cruiser and everything! There's me, Slippy, Bill, Katt, everybody!"_

"Really? Great! See you soon!"

"_See ya!"_

"Do you feel that?" Said James, to no one in particular.

Peppy straightened up and held his back. "No, but I feel this. How much more stuff do we have to hoist?"

"Well, we have most of the stuff up here, so we as well might call it quits."

"All right." Said Peppy.

James nodded, and leant over the hole in the ceiling of the cavern.

"**Hey Pigma!**"

"**What?**"

"**We're taking a break! Is Fox done?**"

"**No! He went to get me more lemonade uh… Ten minutes ago!**"

"Oh. **Well could you finish up for him?**"

"**What!**"

"**You know! Finish up!**"

"**I heard what you said!**"

"**Well then do it!**"

"**But I-**"

He was interrupted by Fox's trademark something-important-to-say "Daaaaaaaaaaddd!"

"**Thanks Pigma!**"

Ignoring the flow of subterranean muttering, He turned and went to Fox, who was waiting at the edge of the pile of equipment circling the hole.

"Yes Fox?" He said, genuinely interested in whatever excuse Fox had found to not do work.

"Guess what?" Said Fox, obviously in a playful mood.

"I don't feel like it. Just tell me."

"Oh come on! You're no fun!"

"You know I hate guessing games. Can't you just tell me?"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Said Fox, utilising the 'puppy dog eyes' manoeuvre.

"Alright," said James. "Uh… Did you find some money?"

"Nope."

"Get a high score?"

"Nope."

"Pick the lock on the blaster cabinet?"

"Nope."

"Jump off the roof?"

"No! Try harder!"

"Dunno. Sorry."

Fox shook his head. "Do you give up?"

James sighed. "Yes, I give up. Now will you tell me?"

"Ok." Fox thought about it for a second. "Falco is bringing practically the whole class from Corneria here, along with their parents, and they'll be here in around 10 minutes."

James stared vacantly at Fox for a moment, and then went into damage control.

"Fox, I need you to go back to the house and tidy up and get everything ready for our guests. While you're there, tell Peppy to come back here because I've got something very important to do and I need his help." Said James, so quickly that Fox missed most of it.

"Uh… could you repeat that?"

"I'd love to, but I don't have time. Now run along and get Peppy."

"Dad? What's wrong?"

"Ok then. 10 bucks says you can't get Peppy out here in 30 seconds."

Fox's eyes widened, then he started impersonating a laser shot.

James waited until Fox was out of earshot, then all hell broke loose.

"! **Pigma!**"

"**What?**"

"**Put two shovels on the winch and set up a low grav field below the hole. Now!**"

"**What?**"

"**NOW!**"

"**Ok!**"

Peppy came sprinting up behind James, breathing heavily. "What?"

James thrust a shovel into Peppy's hands and without stoping to explain, started throwing shovelfuls of electronic equipment back down the hole.

Peppy caught on, and joined in the frantic activity.

Fox took a moment to himself. After all, his fur was impossible. It stuck out at all angles, there were cowlicks and tufts everywhere. He licked his hand and tried to smooth down the fur on his face. Fox wasn't usually interested in his appearance, but almost everyone he had ever known was going to be here in 5 ish minutes. He had to look presentable. Despite the odds.

The house was reasonably clean, and there were plenty of snacks in the fridge. Fox had stopped cleaning, but it hadn't been that long since he had last wiped it down. _ 'Still, I might go over it the once… nah. They'll be here in a few minutes.'_ Thought Fox, instead opting to put a few packets of chips on the table.

He sat on the couch and watched the front door, and noticed a noise in the background. It sounded like… someone shovelling dirt. Dad did strange things sometimes. The noise stopped, there was a pause, then James rushed in, breathing heavily.

"Are they here yet?" He asked, looking around frantically.

"Nup. What have you been doing?"

"Nothing important. Now, Fox, can you keep a secret?"

"Uh… yeah, why?"

"The Arwing and the workshop are Daddy's secrets, and they have to stay secrets, 'cause if someone found out, the cornerian military would get very angry with me."

"So…"

"Don't tell anyone anything."

"Ok dad."

"And next time you have friends over, tell me first."

"No problem."

Their father-son moment was cut short there however, as there was a loud knock on the door.

Fox jumped up and ran to the door, threw it open and was immediately thrown back by a young and hyperactive Falco.

Ignoring the half-hugging, half-wrestling pile of fur and feathers, a majestic eagle stepped over them both and stood in front of James, attempting to stare him down.

By some unbelievable fluke on Falco's part, Fox found himself face down, pinned to the floor by a scaly talon.

"Say uncle!" Said Falco, demonstrating an apparent lack of the imagination required to think of something more macho and clever to say.

"No way," replied Fox. "I can get up anytime I want."

"Yeah?" Said Falco and he grabbed one of Fox's arms and thrust it up behind his back.

Their match of wits was interrupted there however, as the eagle and James suddenly burst out laughing.

"You old scruff head! You got old!" Said the eagle, and he laughed some more.

"Yeah? Well I didn't think it was possible to get grey feathers!"

"Oh shut up!" The eagle replied, still laughing. He turned to the small congregation of animals outside and beaconed and they gratefully came inside.

Peppy and Pigma emerged from the stairs, looking like they had just sorted half a ton of electronics into piles.

There were 30 or 40 ish people in the lounge room and heaven knows where they had come from. James had somehow managed to make alcohol appear (all parents can somehow do that) and was chatting to everyone at the same time.

Pigma immediately grabbed a beer and went off to get hammered. After all, it _had_ been two days since he had had a drink. Which was a P.B.

Peppy meanwhile, joined up with the throng following James. For some reason, people followed him, wether they knew that they were doing it or not.

"Hey James." He said, raising his voice slightly to carry over the voices and soft piano muzak someone had put on.

"Oh hey Peppy. Did you finish up?"

"Yeah, I'm done."

"Good. Try to keep it under wraps. We can't let everyone know, can we?"

"Know what?" Said a surly looking eagle that was standing behind James.

"Oh, uh, Peppy, this is Wedge. He's Falco Lombardi's foster father. Wedge, this is Peppy Hare, He works for the Cornerian military."

"Charmed." Said peppy, offering his hand.

"The pleasures all mine." Said Wedge, practically crushing Peppy's hand with his own. "So what were you two talking about?"

"You know we can't tell you," Said James. "So don't ask."

"You and your conspiracies." Said Wedge, shaking his head.

"So Peppy," Said James, rapidly changing the subject. "You haven't seen most of these people before, have you?"

"No, not really." Said Peppy, scanning the crowd of unfamiliar faces.

"I'm not to familiar with them myself," Said Wedge. "I'm not a people person. Falco organised most of this on his own."

"Well, Those two are Mr. And Ms. Toad, Slippy's parents. The two cats are the Monroe's, they're Katt's parents. That's Mr. Grey, over there, he's recently divorced…

_Identity confirmed. Fox McCloud. Access granted. Don't touch anything._

"What's up with that?" Said Falco's voice, from the back of the pack of kids.

"Long story." Said Fox, and he lead the small group into the workshop.

There were several 'oooohhhh's and 'aahhhhhh's as the lights came on to reveal a fully built Arwing, and two other semi-built Arwings.

The group was about to swarm the Arwings when Fox stopped them.

He climbed up on top of a crate and whistled loudly. "Listen up people!" He yelled, and there was stillness. "First things first. That corner is the weapon R'n'D section, so don't go over there. And, if it's labelled as 'explosive' do me a favour and don't touch it. Thanks."

He leapt down from the crate and into party mode.


	6. Chapter vi

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 2:00 PM.

In the midst of many happy people, two were worried.

"I don't understand. He promised me." Said Wedge, looking rather upset.

"Don't worry. James has never broken his word." Said a masculine Lynx.

"Terry, when have you ever known James to avoid a question?"

Terry thought for a second. He hadn't known James that long, as he had only met James indirectly and by coincidence. Katt, his only daughter, had fallen for a certain falcon (she had a thing for bad boys, apparently) and so he had met Wedge. Wedge had introduced him to James, who was the father of his daughter's boyfriend's best friend. It was a slim tie at best.

Once he had gotten to know James however, he had grown to respect and admire him. He had never lied to him once.

"Never." He said.

"It doesn't make sense. What could he be hiding?"

Terry paused. Then he smiled. "We'll just have to find out, now won't we?"

"I like the way you think. Where's Falco? He's usually good for snooping."

"Haven't seen him. In fact, I haven't seen any of the kids since we arrived. Where could they be?"

"Alright Fox, last round," said Falco, grinning cockily out of the second Arwing's cockpit.

"Your going down!" Yelled Fox from the cockpit of the finished Arwing.

The rather large crowed cheered on as Fox fired up the dogfight sim, and revved up his virtual engine.

The two cockpits sealed and Fox flicked a few switches.

3…

2…

1…

GO!

Fox blasted out of his base, roughly 500 meters from Falco's base, at twice the speed of sound. Green Cornerian hills surrounded him.

There was a brief pause, then Falco's ship dropped from the sky like a bird of prey out of the sun.

The two ships traded charged shots, then they both sped off in the other direction.

There was much cursing from both pilots, and more cheering from the crowd.

Fox pulled a U-turn, and then barrel rolled out of Falco's sight's, right before he could lock on. Things were hotting up.

Falco was determined to win. They were tied at two games each, and this was the decider. And it was his.

Fox started weaving, desperately trying to avoid Falco's fire as he rained hell on him.

Becoming frustrated, Fox pulled a loop, only to have Falco loop behind him again. He tried a sharp left turn, only to get hit again. His shields were at 45 now, and the scanner said Falco was at 70. He had to do something, fast.

"_Fine! You wanna play like that? Let's dance!"_

He pulled a loop, followed buy two barrel rolls, into a U-turn, followed buy a another loop, into a hard right.

Falco cursed, and tried to keep up.

Fox was out of options, despite all his acrobatics, he was still being hit. He was at 25. As a last ditch manoeuvre, he boosted down to a river, and followed its course between the hills.

This was enough to get Falco off his back, as Falco was stupid enough to try that.

"_Where'd you go, you crazy maniac?!"_ Yelled Falco, as Fox had taken a turn and lost him.

Suddenly, Falco copped a fully charged shot to the rear, dropping his shields to 30.

"_I'm right behind you! Now hold still!"_

The tables had turned, and Falco was hopelessly screwed.

Fox attacked with a vengeance, and it seemed like it was all over.

Falco tried a last gasp U-turn and the world turned upside down, then everything went black and was replaced by the words: Shot down!

Finish!

"Damn it! You suck!" Said Falco, and he opened the cockpit to applause and cheering.

"Huh? What gives?"

"You lunatic! You crashed into me!" Said Fox, climbing out of the cockpit.

"What?"

"You drew with him!" said a grey dog, thumping him hard on the back. "Congrats! We all thought you were gonna lose for sure!"

"Really? Hah! In your face McCloud!"

"Yeah shut up." Said Fox nonchalantly, already looking for something else to do.

"Falco…" Said someone coyly. "It's my turn now."

"Katt! Uh…" said Falco, eyeing the feline nervously. "Your turn?"

"You promised me you'd play a game with me when we got here if I left you alone for the trip." She said, and she waved a paw in the general direction of the Arwings. "I want to verse you on that."

"Well I want to, but uh… Bill want's a turn too!"

"I do?" Said Bill, who had gone off and just come back.

"Yeah, you do." Said Falco, and he tried to stare Bill down.

Bill just shrugged it off, and followed Katt, whose tail was twitching back and forth with frustration at being foiled again.

"So, who do you think will win?" Said Fox, sitting down for a good battle.

"I dunno. Why?"

"Want to make a bet?"


	7. Chapter vii

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 10:00 PM.

Wedge lay in the grass and stared at the stars. They filled the sky, a hundred million million bright specks. The roof of the universe reflected off his glassy eyes, and he watched. Right… there. That was Santos. The nearest planet. It was a jungle planet, with no recent signs of civilized life. Next came Mire. That was way over in the other direction, and was a planet dominated by swamp. It had a heavy atmosphere. Way off in the other side of the system, Horst was also floating around. That was a planet of ice, as it was very far away from AC B. It took the combined weight of AC B and AC A to keep it in orbit.

It was a big place, space. Wedge had always been fascinated by it. It was a little hobby of his to research planets. There were still quite a few in this particular system that were still unexplored. Maybe he could stop and have a poke around on the way back.

"Why aren't I surprised to find you here?" said a tired sounding voice out of the blackness.

"James?"

"Yeah." Said James and he lay down in the grass next to Wedge. "There were no more beds, so I decided I'd sleep here instead of on the floor."

"I thought I tasted you on the air when I sat down here."

"Yeah. This is where I come to get away."

"Get away? You mean from your secrets?"

James sighed, and went to stand up.

"No! No. Stay here. I won't press the matter."

"Thanks." Said James, relieved that he didn't have to find somewhere else to sleep.

"Doesn't it bother you though?"

"What?"

"You're secrets. You never keep secrets."

"Oh. Yeah. It bothers me." James rolled over. " I just want to sleep. I'm exhausted."

There was silence. It lingered. It stretched, it was alive and palatable. It muffled the sounds of the night, and wrapped tight around James, stifling him. The silence was making the air hot, and the grass seemed to wither. The silence was suffocating him, its was squeezing the life from him. James couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he couldn't see. Finally, the silence was too much.

"Wedge?"

"What?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Yes."

"Never mind then."

Wedge sighed. James sure could be stupid. "What do you want?"

"I don't really want to hide anything from you."

"I know that."

"This secrets stuff kills me."

"I know."

"I see a fighter!"

"I kn-What?"

"Look, over there." Said James, and he sat up and pointed.

Wedge could see it now, a far off pinprick in the distance, approaching them. "What could a fighter be doing out here?"

"Fox? Fooox?" Whispered Falco. "You awake?"

No response.

Falco clicked his fingers in front of Fox's nose. Nothing. He prodded him in the stomach. Still nothing. He gently lifted up an eyelid. Still nothing. He was out cold, dead to the world. Perfect.

Falco lifted up his mobile, set the flash too low, and zoomed in on Fox's eye. There was a small flash, and Falco cringed, but Fox just mumbled and rolled over.

"Wow. Heavy sleeper." Whispered Falco to no one in particular.

He tiptoed over several sleeping bodies, and carefully opened the door. He made his way to the blast door, which he had purposely left agar, and silently crept down the stairs.

He had bet on Katt, and lost. 200 big ones. He didn't have that kind of money. He'd have to find something valuable in the workshop and sell it.

He held up his phone to the scanner and prayed.

_Identity confirmed. Fox McCloud. Access granted. Don't touch anything._

"Yes!" he exclaimed, and he hurried through the door…

…into a catastrophe of light and noise. The completed Arwing had been flight prepped, and was primed to launch in to a small tunnel in the wall. Every screen read: 'Bogey detected!' and alarms were blaring.

"What the hell?"

Falco ran over to a computer, and punched in an enquiry.

The screen read: _'Bogey: single fighter. Unknown class. Single pilot. Highly potent weapons. High manoeuvrability._

"Shoot!" Falco glanced at the Arwing. "What do I do now?"


	8. Chapter viii

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 10:07 PM.

Nothing can prepare you for the real thing. You can play a shooter game, but it's nothing like getting shot at. You can play a fighting game, but it's nothing like karate. You can practice on a flight sim, but it's just not the same.

"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Screamed Falco, as he was thrown violently backwards by the massive acceleration of the Arwing.

The walls of the tunnel, only a few inches away, blurred instantly. The rapidly approaching end of the tunnel opened up and Falco shot through.

Then he was off, flying free, going faster than he had ever thought possible. In the wrong direction.

He snapped out of his trance and pulled a u-turn. Then was crushed into the seat by the extreme g-forces involved.

As soon as he could take his hands of the controls, he throttled back hard.

Barely inching forward, he activated the thermal imaging filter and then magnified the image on the H.U.D.

The bogey was hovering over a small hill, and it seemed that it hadn't noticed Falco's less than graceful exit from the bunker.

What was it doing all the way over there?

"_Don't… move…"_ Whispered James.

The fighter was directly above them, looking for them. It was obvious that it was looking for them because it had coasted over to where they had lain, scanning the ground as it went. James and Wedge had taken refuge underneath a small rock overhang, and had so far avoided detection, although it was only a matter of time till they were found.

"_How could it know we were here?"_ Asked Wedge, trying his best to blend in with the red earth.

"_I don't know. But it's going to find us soon."_

The fighter had started doing circles in the air, and was now shining a powerful spotlight down on the ground.

"_I say we make a break for it."_

"_Are you nuts! It'll spot us straight away!"_

"_Then we need a distraction."_

"_Where are we going to get one of those?"_

The unknown ship hovered, and the occupant sat, and waited.

It had been hard, but he hadn't gone and blown the targets to pieces immediately. He had observed. He had watched. There had been many times when he could have caught them unaware, but he had waited for the most opportune moment, and that was now.

Somewhere below him, James McCloud was hiding, and he would die tonight.

The search was almost complete, and soon the ship would find them. One blast. That's all it would take.

Boss would be pleased.

Besides that, it was gratif-

"_Attention unknown fighter! Identify yourself and your intentions!"_

The pilot glanced right, and immediately saw the tell tale red glow of a high frequency thermal image. In the space of half a second, he calculated the approximate distance, position and size of the enemy. Then he glanced in the other direction, and back again for good measure. He had the advantage now.

"_This is your final warning! Identify yourself!"_

The pilot laughed softly. Amateur.

The screen on the display flashed: _'Life forms detected!'_ next to a clear picture of two people trying to drag their way out from under a small overhang.

He let the figures get up and running, then he aimed the ships lasers carefully. This was way too easy.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a building green light. He looked at it, and it was almost as if… the other pilot was charging his laser. But that was impossible. No laser to date could generate enough energy to charge and be small enough to fit on a fighter… unless…

"The Arwing! Unbelievable!" He said, and he turned his ship to face the new threat.

Unseen by him, James and Wedge ran to a hole, and jumped on a small platform. James pressed a button, and the two figures slowly descended out of sight.

"Look's like I finally got your attention!" Falco said, trying to keep his voice even and fight the urge to fly as fast as he could in the other direction.

"…_What are you doing in a ship like that?"_ Said the pilot.

"Aiming at you! What are you doing here!"

"_Hunting. But my prey got away, thanks to you."_

"Huh?"

"_Let's see if you have the skills to match that mouth of yours."_

"Oh boy…"

The two pilots threw the throttle forward, and as one, they raced towards each other.


	9. Chapter ix

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 10:013 PM.

"Eat charged shot!" Yelled Falco, and he unloaded a shining green ball of energy from his ship.

The other pilot swerved violently, and managed to avoid the attack.

Falco began to pummel the 'fire' button, and sprayed the oncoming fighter with lasers. He scored a few hits, but nothing major. The funny thing was, the other guy wasn't even attacking! He was just dodging the shot's Falco fired.

Then, the other pilot peeled off to the right. Falco followed him, wondering why the hell someone would expose their weak point like that.

Never one for details, Falco continued to blast at the ship, though he wasn't hitting it much.

Suddenly, the ship dived down and left, straight into a clump of trees.

A com link invitation appeared, which Falco opened, showing a grey wolf panting heavily.

"_Phew… ha… wow… what a thrill!"_ said the wolf, seeming a little too excited.

"What's wrong with you?" Asked Falco, puzzled by this strange person's behaviour.

"_There's nothing wrong with me. You're just the first pilot for a while that's been able to hit me!"_

"What? Who the heck are you anyway?"

"_I'm Grey. And you may be good, but I'm much better!"_ Said Grey, pushing the point home with a burst of lasers from nowhere.

Somehow, while they were talking, Grey had snuck around behind Falco!

"Crud!" yelled Falco, and he barrel rolled frantically.

He was screwed unless someone helped him, and fast.

James and Wedge were also sparring at that time.

"You lying scum! You said you were done with the military!" yelled Wedge, furious that James would do this. Again.

"Look, I did this for Fox! Ok! Get off my back!" yelled James, who had better things to do than argue.

"But you said you wouldn't! And I believed you!"

"That's beside the point! Fox is up there! I have to help him!"

"Yes of course, you're kid is up there! He's a renegade! Like his father!"

James ignored Wedge, and jumped off the railing on the winch platform, falling the two meters to the floor.

He hit the ground running, and dashed to the nearest computer he could find. He frantically punched in commands, and brought up radar on the main screen.

"Alright then! Who's trying to kill us this time!" yelled Wedge, still in the mood for arguing.

"Well, let's see. There's the Arwing," said James, gesturing at a blip on the radar. "And… oh no! The other fighter's behind it!"

"What can we do from here?"

"Heat seeking ground to air missiles."

"Just what kind of work are you doing down here anyway?"

"New kind of fighter." Said James, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "I'm going to warn Fox and get him to get clear."

James pulled a com link up on the main, and resized the radar in the bottom right corner of the screen.

"Come on Fox, pick up!" Said James, waiting for a picture.

The arwing finally accepted the com link, and a picture flashed on to the screen.

Both fathers stopped, and as one, said: "Oh hell no."

Falco swerved violently, and barrel rolled again. Apart from that, he couldn't do much else.

Try as he might, this guy was all over him.

This mystery call was his last chance.

"Anyone there?"

"_Falco?"_ Said a voice.

'_Oh '_ "Dad?" Two figures came into focus on the monitor, but Falco was two busy to pay any attention.

"_What are you doing in my Arwing?! No, scratch that, what are you're shields at?"_ Asked the other person, who turned out to be Mr McCloud.

Falco strained against the g-forces, and had a look.

"_44! Ahhhh! 38!"_

Wedge banged his fist down, and shouted, "Bail out right now!"

James however, stopped him. "No! Don't bail out! That's the only complete Arwing!"

"Well what should he do?"

"Falco!"

"_Yeah?"_

"Next to the thrust is a big red button with a cover. Push the button!"

"Ok!" Falco yelled over the sound of lasers. They were deafening! His shields were down to fifteen, and still falling.

He looked down, and flicked up the cover of the button. He hesitated for one fraction of a second, and then jammed his finger down hard.

For half a second nothing happened, then…

PSHEEEWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwww…….

There was a brief moment where a small red object flew off in front of Falco then:

BBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!

An immense blast rushed up to meet Falco, and he covered his face with his arms, certain he was about to die.

The explosion rushed past on all sides, but somehow, none of it touched the Arwing. The explosive had been carefully calibrated to deflect away at the centre, leaving a hole in the flames just big enough for an Arwing to pass through unharmed.

Falco realised he was still screaming, and promptly shut his mouth.

He checked radar, but it appeared that Grey had peeled off to avoid the blast.

"Great work Falco! Now land somewhere safe and out of sight!" Said James. The bogey was heading in their direction now, and he was going to take it out.

James cut the com link, and turned to a furious Wedge.

"You almost killed my son!"

"He shouldn't have been up there."

"He saved our lives!"

"And I saved his."

"Why you little-"

"_James McCloud?"_

James and Wedge stared at each other, then at the monitor.

"Yes?"

"_I have a message."_

"From who?"

"_The Boss"_

"Who's the Boss?"

"_It doesn't matter."_

"Who are you?"

"_Ask your friend."_

"Falco?"

"_Ah, that's his name. He has promise."_

"What's the message?"

"_I see you James McCloud."_

"What?"

James and Wedge stared and watched as the blip on the radar accelerated into hyper speed.

"We'd better get Falco down here."


	10. Chapter x

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 2:20 PM.

The Arwing had been repaired and renewed, and the other two had been finished. As there was no longer a need for secrecy, they were all resting on the lawn in the backyard. Peppy was scuttling from one to the other, performing last minute checks and tests. Pigma was around somewhere, lurking no doubt. He had become more reclusive as of late, and James was worried about him. But more than Pigma's reclusive-ness, more than Peppy's manic obsession, James was worried about Fox.

After the attack, Falco had spilled the beans on Fox, and told of his encounter with the mysterious Grey. After some persuasion (being lifted out of bed by the scruff of his neck and clouted soundly), Fox owned up. Despite being deeply disappointed, Wedge had let the matter of the Arwings lie. The whole group had gone again the next morning, though Wedge had made James promise to keep in contact 'as he was not done talking'.

James had contacted the newly appointed General Pepper with a few angry questions, and had been given permission to go above ground. With the project's cover blown, and the local governing body suitably placated, James had finally been able to order parts and materials locally. Within two weeks, he had achieved as much as he had in the previous 18 months, and he had finished all three Arwings.

Pepper had contacted James again, and had given him his first assignment. The scientist Andross had become a nuisance again, and it was James's mission to find him and put him out of action. James had consulted with Peppy and Pigma, and Star Fox was born. Its first mission was due to start in… 28 minutes.

Fox wasn't happy though. The mission meant that he would be taken out of school, and dragged back to Corneria under the 'Save Our Sons' scheme by some well meaning social worker. Then he'd be forcibly enrolled in the Cornerian flight academy. James was fine with Fox staying right where he was, but it was policy.

James sighed and got up. He might as well have one last chat with Fox before he went.

"Fox, are you in there?" Said James, talking through the door.

"Go away."

James quietly tried the handle. There was no lock, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Fox? Come on. I just want to talk."

"Go away."

"Please? Just open the door."

"I said go away!" Yelled Fox, and something was hurled at the door.

"Fine. I'll talk to you through the door."

James waited for any objection. There was none.

"I know you're angry."

Silence.

"You don't want to leave school."

More silence.

"I know you don't want me to go."

The silence was even louder.

"But it has to be this way."

Even more silence. James felt like he was talking to a wall. He probably was.

"If it means anything, I don't want you to change school."

There was a cough. At least he hadn't gone out the window.

"I wish there was another way, but there isn't."

"Liar."

James rejoiced at this small breakthrough. Even if it was in the wrong direction, it was a step.

"What other way is there then?"

There was a slight pause. James prayed Fox would keep talking.

"Why not send someone else?"

James began breathing again. If Fox was asking questions, it was a good sign.

"You know that as well as I do. The controls are very different from any other aircraft ever built. I've changed the whole system around and modified everything to be much more efficient. Everything's much closer together and much more naturally placed."

"If it's so different, how come Falco and I can fly it?"

"You're young. You two haven't properly learned to fly an aircraft yet. Plus, you and Falco had been… practicing. Older people who have been flying for a long time are used to other control types. It'd be like you trying to play a game with the controller inside out and upside down."

"Yeah, right."

"Besides, I don't have time to train three new pilots. This is a priority mission. I already know how to fly it, and I have two other people already ready to go. Why would I bother training more?"

"I know."

There were a few movements, and then something sat against the door. James slumped down on the other side.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Said Fox. James did the aural equivalent of a double take. Gone was the anger and hurt in Fox's voice. It had been replaced by sadness, and fear. He hadn't been angry because he was changing schools. Fox had been angry because he was afraid. Afraid for _him_.

There was another movement. James stood, and tried the handle again. This time, he met with no resistance.

Fox was by the window, looking away from James. He walked up slowly and carefully. He could see Fox shaking.

"Fox?"

Fox sniffed, then gulped. He tried to keep his voice even, but it broke.

"What?"

"It's all right. I won't tell anyone." Said James, and he reached out and put his hand on Fox's shoulder. He tensed, but didn't shake it off.

James turned Fox around. Despite obvious effort, tears were streaming down Fox's cheeks. James pulled him closer, and after a moment's resistance, Fox crumpled into James's chest, where he cried as he had not for years.

For a good five minutes, James held his child and let him cry. Eventually, Fox dried up, and he pulled himself away. He was still sniffing, but he obviously felt better. He turned around and leant out the window, leaning on the windowsill. James leant next to him, staring out into the hilly countryside.

Fox seemed a little embarrassed by the whole affair, so James decided to start the conversation where it had left off.

"You don't have to worry. I can take care of myself."

"I know. I just… don't know what I'd do without you."

"Then I'll tell you what you'll do. First, you'll clean up this mess. This room's disgusting! Then, you'll get packed. You _are_ leaving tomorrow. Then, you'll clean yourself up. You look even worse than the room. _Then_, You'll go to Corneria. _Then_, you'll make some new friends and get reacquainted with you're old ones. _Then_, you'll start flight school. _Then_, You'll take care of yourself and stick up for yourself. Do I have to bloody spell it out for you?!"

Fox collected himself quickly. "No dad. I'll get on it."

"Good." He got up, and walked to the door.

"Dad?"

He stopped.

"Yes Fox?"

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now get on with it."

Grey slept. The Wolven floated aimlessly, hidden by the shadow of one of Mire's moons. He slept sitting up, something he had trained himself to do many years ago. As a million million stars wheeled overhead, he dreamed.

It was raining. It always rained. It washed across the ground, towards Grey, then threw itself skyward.

In reality, Grey grimaced in his sleep. A half thought said: 'Here I go again'

A dark city loomed, and buildings rushed past as Grey watched impassively.

_The movement of the world around him slowed, and the ground stopped moving past his stationary feet._

_Grey sighed, and began walking down the road. He walked, but didn't move. Then the lights came on. They were strange, because the light seemed to be coming from a specific direction, but when you looked, there was nothing. _

He was sweating now, semi-aware of himself, desperately trying to wake up.

_The sky had turned to stars, and night had fallen. The sky was strange though; in one half, the were millions of stars, but in the other… just one._

Now, in the background, a low murmur. A soft word. A laugh. In the darkness, Grey could now make out dim figures. First one, then ten, then a hundred people, lining the road. Facing away from him. Talking to the darkness.

A tail swished in the dark. Fingers gripped the rest, the relaxed. It was too late. The dream had him.

There he was. A faceless wolf blocked the road. A voice echoed from nowhere.

The radio crackled. A strange vo_ice proclaimed: "Who are you?_

"Why do you fight?" _"Why'd you do it?"_

"Why are you determined to kill a person you have never met?" _"Why'd you leave?!"_

The voice was old and dry. But no… it was young, and upset.

_Grey culched at his head, and tried to make sense of what was happening._

_The young wolf with no face was visibly upset now, drawing heavy breath through an invisible mouth._

"_Why…" It whispered. "Why!? What did she do!? You didn't have to! Why Her?!" it yelled._

_Grey looked at the figure, which now towered over him by at least 3 feet._

"_I don't know what you're talking about!" he exclaimed, his words echoing strangely._

The figure shook it's head. Again the voice echoed out.

"Don't you? It's your job, isn't it? To kill?"

Grey writhed against the sweat soaked seat, still under the nightmares grip.

"Don't… understand…"He mumbled.

"Oh I think you do." Said the tinny voice.

"_Why not! You know! You just don't want to understand!" Screamed the figure. "You don't care! You never cared! I HATE YOU!"_

The figure lunged at Grey.

"Well. If you're not going to tell me what I want to know: I might as well kill you. Goodbye, Mr Oldono."

_Grey was lifted up, and thrown bodily backwards. He scraped along the concrete, leaving a trail of blood and matted fur. He tried to sit up, but was kicked back down by the figure and his head cracked against the ground. Dazed, Grey didn't move as the figure loomed over him. Grey stared at his death… and saw past it. Beyond him, beyond the backwards rain, the lone star and the dark blue void, there was a screen. It said:_ **Self Destruct: 45 seconds.**

_That meant something. Something important._

_The figure crouched._

_Wolven…_

_An invisible mouth opened._

_Bomb…_

Hot breath on his neck.

Grey gasped and sat forward. His eyes focused on the countdown.

An animal bit down on air. Then howled.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, and he cursed loudly.

**23…**

**22…**

**21…**

Someone was blocking him! He couldn't stop the count down!

**18…**

**17…**

He'd have to manually override the system. He folded up the keyboard and opened up a panel in the floor.

**14…**

**13…**

There were thousands of wires. Only one would disable the bomb.

**11…**

"Come on, Come on!" He said to himself, as he hurriedly traced bunches of wires.

**8…**

There was the power bunch. There were ten or so wires.

**6…**

What had the manual said?

**5…**

Yellow and green!

**4…**

It wasn't there!

**3…**

Where…

**2…**

The wire!

**1…**

Faster than a snake striking, Grey pulled out the wire.

**0..-Malfunction. Countdown terminated.**

Grey sat back, and took a deep breath. He covered his eyes and tried to think.

What the hell had just happened?

Well. There had been the dream. It had been even weirder than last time. But there had also been something that wasn't a dream. Another voice.

So.

"Bring up the latest call."

There was a pause. Then: **Latest call: Unknown caller. Unknown origin. Priority one emergency announcement broadcast.** appeared on the screen.

"Priority one?" Asked Grey. He'd never heard of that one before.

**Priority one emergency announcement broadcast. Used by commanders to bypass call phase, resulting in a direct connection.**

A pause, then: "Meaning?"

**. . . The receiver is forced to answer.**

"Oh. Is the call recorded?"

**Negative. Priority one emergency override was used to erase the recording.**

"…Right. How long was the call?"

**14:23.**

"Hmn… right."

Far away, a light flashed on a small camera.

'_Incoming video feed'_

"Bring it up on screen."

A picture flickered. James and co. were running around doing some last second preparation.

Grey leaned in. "Here we go. Leaving so soon? But where are you going?"

9


	11. Chapter xi

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Gaia. 2:45 PM.

Pigma was watching Peppy work on his arwing. There were nuts and bolts raining out the underside and oil going everywhere.

"Hey Peppy?" Asked Pigma.

"What?" came a voice from underneath the arwing.

"Can I get you to make a few changes?"

"You've got to be kidding…"

"It's nothing major! I just want the wings out further."

There was mumbling from the shadows under the arwing, then Peppy said, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"There'll be no changing this once we get moving. You'll be stuck with it."

"But you said I'd be able to adjust as we went."

"Yeah, well… We didn't have time to finish the locking mechanism. So we have to bolt the wings down."

"Oh. Well, extend them all the way then."

"You sure?"

"Just do it."

"Ok. Sure?

"Yes!"

James wandered around the house. He hadn't lived here long, but he'd gotten attached to it. It was a shame that Fox had to go. He sighed and sat on the couch. It would probably be the last time he'd ever sit there, seeing how the house was being sold.

Well, that was it, wasn't it? This section of his life was over. It was time to start again. Even though he had promised.

James sat, and remembered.

_He had been a pilot once. Way back when solo spaceflight was still new, James had been one of the lucky few. He'd been a part of the very first intergalactic war. It hadn't been as pretty as they had said it would._

_Oh sure, the view had been nice, but it had looked very unpleasant to be shot down in space. It had been back when cockpits could be shattered by one good shot. He still had nightmares of scraping dried, cooked remains off his craft._

_He had met Wedge back then, as part of a guerrilla resiance on Titania, and they had become friends._

_Eventually, the war had ended, but Wedge had stayed in touch._

_He'd wandered around for a while, drifting from planet to planet, hiring out as a mercenary. On one job, he had run into Wedge again, to find him sad and alone. He had recently found out that the Cornerian military had neglected to protect parts of other systems, and his own family had been killed._

_Together, they had sworn never to fight for Corneria again._

But here he was. That had been a long time ago, and a long way away. Besides, he wasn't fighting for Corneria, he was fighting for himself.

Yeah.

Fox grabbed the last draw out of his cupboard and emptied it on the floor. Then he sat down on the bed and looked at the mess.

Most of the kids he knew had moved once or twice, but Fox had never lived in any one house for longer than 12 months. That was obvious when you looked at his belongings.

There were no pictures of old friends. There were no cherished childhood objects. Nothing you couldn't fit in a box and take away. Fox's whole life was on the floor, and it was still very small.

Fox sighed, and began to pack the stuff into a box. He always got nostalgic when he moved. He tried to not get attached to particular houses, or particular friends, but it never worked.

He taped up the box, and placed it on a teetering pile of his belongings.

Well, that was his room done. He might as well help out the adults now.

James walked up to Pigma, who looked concerned.

"Hey." Said Pigma, still watching his arwing closely.

"Hey Pigma. Are you set up?" Said James.

"Yeah, Peppy's just tinkering with the lasers."

"Oh? What'd you change?"

"I'll be using the Hyper. What about you?"

"Twin. Peppy told me he'd be using Single."

"Right. Well, you went with having the wings out, so I figured it was a good idea."

"What about Peppy?"

"He's got them back."

"He always was a speed freak."

"Hey! I heard that!" Came a muffled indignant voice.

"Oh. Sorry." Said James, chuckling quietly.

"And quit laughing!"

James shut up, but kept smiling.

While the adults were discussing Peppy's racing days, Fox was out having one last look at the field. He had meant to go and offer help, but he probably would have just been in the way. Plus, he was still a little embarrassed about what had happened earlier. But only a little.

"…And of course, he went right over! You could see the explosion for miles!" Said James. "That's how he got that bald patch."

"What bald patch?" Asked Pigma, sensing an opportunity.

"There is no bald patch!" Said Peppy sharply, as he clambered out from under James's arwing. "Now could we change the subject?"

"Oh alright." Said James.

"So," Said Pigma, "How's Fox handling having to move?"

"Oh, uh… He's… coping."

"So where is he?" Asked Peppy. "Shouldn't he helping?"

"I think I know. I'll be right back."

"But we're going in like, two minutes!"

"We are?" James asked. "Well, I'll be quick."

Fox stood on the top of the hill, and looked over the rolling acres of green hills. It really was a good view.

He stared out over the hills, but he listened intently. There was the wind, and not much else. Except for… crunch. A footstep. Perfect.

Without warning, Fox wheeled and pounced, knocking James right off his feet. James hit the ground heavily and Fox landed on top.

Fox whooped and laughed. "Ha ha! Got ya! Yeah!"

James also laughed, in between gasps for breath. "Meant… for that… to happen… oh… man…"

Fox rolled off his father and sat up next to him. James also sat up, but slower.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine."

"Good."

Fox sat there, watching James catch his breath.

"So. What do you want?" Said James, after a little while.

"Want?"

"Don't you remember? I said you could have anything you wanted if you ever got me."

"When did you say that?"

"Years and years ago."

"Dad!" Fox said, and he punched James's arm. That just made James laugh again.

They sat for a little while, watching the breeze in the grass.

"Tell you what. You can have these," He said, and he placed his shades on Fox's nose.

"Really?" Said Fox, looking cross eyed at them.

"Yeah. I have another pair somewhere anyway."

"Thanks dad!" Said Fox, and he took off his new shades and had a closer look.

"Don't mention it. Just think of it as a keepsake. Heck, we may not see each other for months."

"Yeah…" Said Fox wistfully, and he put the shades back on. "Hey! Why don't I give you something?"

"Nah. I've got some lovely new bruises to remember you by." Said James, and they both started laughing again.

Peppy was busy in the cockpit of his arwing, and Pigma was inside grabbing a snack. They were now five minutes late, and James was still off saying good bye to Fox.

"It'd be nice to not have to worry about deadlines…" He muttered to himself. "Oh, 'I'll be quick' alright. Blindingly fast. And freaking Pigma. Can't even set up his own arwing. 'But you said I'd be able to adjust it!' Yeah, too bad."

"Hey Peppy!" Yelled a voice, which startled him. He jumped up and banged his head on the roof of the cockpit.

Whilst Peppy was cursing inventively, James whispered to Fox, "Don't ever let me hear you repeat any of that."

"Yeah yeah."

"Son of a Pig Ass Piece of James!" Yelled Peppy, as he clambered out of the cockpit. "You sneak up on me, after telling Pigma about the freaking… Uh… Hi Fox."

"Hey Peppy."

Peppy turned to James, who looked perfectly innocent. "We need to talk about this."

"Naturally."

"Well, we need to go really soon Fox." Said Peppy, turning up the 'little kid' mode. "So if you're finished saying goodbye to James, we really must be off."

"I haven't said goodbye to you or Pigma yet."

"Right. Well. I'll go get Pigma, then we'll say bye, and then we'll go. I'll be right back." Said Peppy, and he started running.

Fox and James watched him go.

"He's so dead."

"Yeah."

Fox wandered over to James's arwing, and rubbed the hull. James watched impassively.

"They really are nice. These arwings." Said Fox, nonchalantly.

"No, I'm not going to build you one."

"Aww."

"Well, too bad. If you wanted one, you'd have to build it yourself."

"Yeah…"

"But I definitely won't supply you with the blueprints. Especially not the originals that are in one of the containers."

"Yeah… That'd be irresponsible…"

"And I most definitely won't help you build it so I'd be ready for… oh… say… your 18th."

Fox grinned. Adults.

Peppy came running back up, followed by Pigma, who was still grabbing handfuls out of a chip packet.

"Well, that's everything sorted." Said Peppy. Then he caught James's eye. "Well… Almost everything."

"So you're going now?" Asked Fox.

"Yeah. It's been nice to see you again Fox. You should really keep in touch."

"I'll call you sometime." Said Fox, as Peppy clambered up the side of his arwing.

"See ya Fox," Said Pigma through a mouthful of chips, and he patted Fox on the head as he walked past.

"Uh… Bye," Said Fox, as he picked a piece of chip out of his fur. That left James.

"Well, I'll be seeing you then," Said James slowly.

"Yeah."

There was an awkward pause, then James turned to go.

"Wait!" Yelled Fox, and he ran up and hugged James. "I love you. There. I said it."

James hugged him back. "I know. I love you too. Take care of yourself."

"Yeah. You too." Said Fox, and he slowly let go and backed off.

James smiled, and without another word he clambered up the side of his arwing. He waved, then the tinted glass lowered over him, sealing with a hiss.

There was a second's pause, then the engine fired. The down thrusters angled up as the anti gravity kicked in, the engine roared, and the arwing blasted off, followed by two more. Fox waved as they receded into the atmosphere, and continued to wave long after they had left sight. Even after he stopped, he stood there watching the sky, until the stars came out and it became too cold to stay out.


	12. Chapter xii

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Orbiting Gaia. 0230h Standard Space Time.

"_Hit it!"_

Three arwings lunged froward, breaking through the outer atmosphere and into empty space. James accelerated, then accelerated some more, revelling in the sensation of flight.

"_Whoa! James! Wait for us!"_ Yelled Peppy, and he accelerated as well.

Pigma sighed. It was going to be a long trip. "Hey, wait up!"

James slowed down so that Peppy and Pigma could catch up, and then started off again at an even pace.

"_You guys are such baggage."_ Said James playfully.

"Well, why don't you go ahead and take out Andross by yourself?"

"_I would, but then who I have to look better than?"_

"Why you little-"

"_Guys! We can bicker later! Right now we need to contact Pepper."_

"…You got lucky this time James. All right. Call Pepper."

"_Go ahead James."_

"_Ok. Calling now."_

James got busy with passwords, while Pigma made faces at him.

"_-wnqed28. Star Fox. Ok… and… we're through! Head's up guys!"_

There was a slight pause, then a fanfare. A middle aged hound dog popped up on screen, looking tired.

"_General Pepper here! Congratulations are in order I believe, Star Fox!"_

"_Why thank you sir."_ Said James smartly. _"It's nice to finally be airborne."_

"_So, are you ready for your first official mission?"_

"_As ready as we'll ever be."_

"_Good. I officially charge you to find and eliminate one Dr. Andross. First name: unknown. He has had this charge place on him for unethical experimentation with bio-weaponry, crimes against the Lylat system, and wanton destruction of property. He is additionally charged with hundreds of murders, either directly, or at his command. He had defied Cornerian Law, and scorned our most severe penalties. After the prescribed exile, he amassed a small army, and now threatens the safety of Corneria it's self. His last known whereabouts was on the outer planet of the Lylat system. Venom. Go there, and bring him to justice."_

"_I will."_

"_By the way, where did you find the guts to use a name like Star Fox?"_

"_I figured we should aim for the stars, sir."_

"_All very well and good, but Star Fox? The legendary team that saved the Lylat system all those years ago?"_

"_I understand that that story doesn't have an ending. Perhaps we can provide that ending."_

"_Well, what you call your team is up to you. Even though it should be named after me. I'm the one that got you the funding, after all."_

"_Yes, and I appreciate it, sir."_

"_Well, whatever. As long as I get those plans."_

"_I've got them with someone I trust implicitly. Hard copies only. No signal, no intercept."_

"_Good."_

"_Well, if that's all…"_

"_Oh no. I forgot. You're standard fee."_

"_What about it?"_

"_Are you sure you won't reconsider?"_

"_Reconsider?"_

"_Uh… drop it dramatically."_

"_Oh, no sir. I've got a kid to put through school."_

"_Very well. You're money will be waiting for you when you get back. Pepper out."_

There was radio silence for a few seconds, and then James exploded. _"Can you guys believe it! The full fee! We'll never have to work again!"_

"He must be really, _really_, stupid."

"_And how tired did he look! I've seen more alert zombies!"_

"_Well, it is 2 A.M. over there."_

"So, all we have to do is find this wacko scientist, defeat his army, infiltrate his base and kill him. Then will we be rich?"

"_Pretty much. Nothing like a nice, easy start to the job."_

"Well, how about Peppy and I take you up on your offer?"

"_Offer?"_

"Yeah. We'll wait here, and you go ahead and do all the work."

"_Oh no we won't. I don't want to miss James running like a little girl."_

"_Hey! That's it, you're going down!"_ Yelled James, and he swerved in front of Peppy.

"_Catch me if you can!"_ Yelled Peppy, and he peeled off to the left.

"_You're on!"_ Yelled James, and he boosted after him.

"Hey! Guys! Shouldn't we be getting the money first? Hey! Are you even listening?" Pigma yelled above the two laughing friends. "Wait up!"

Grey had made his choice. James had left hours ago, and Grey had made a gamble on him going to Santos. He had originally meant to cut straight from Mire to Santos, but an hour into the trip, things had changed. As night had fallen on Gaia, there had been light and movement detected on his remote probe. That could have meant only one thing. James's son was vulnerable. And a hostage negotiation was infinitely preferable to a three on one dogfight.

There was a soft noise, and the texture of the darkness changed. Even as the cockpit of the Wolven hissed open, Grey landed fluidly on the ground. He banged on a side panel, which swung open, and drew out a pair of binoculars.

Several kilometres away, framed by a single light, Fox sat in the front door.

That social worker had been due to arrive at eight. Two hours ago. There was nothing to do to pass the time until then, as everything was already packed and gone. The only thing left in the whole house was Fox's suitcase. The power was even off; the only source of light was a small electric lantern.

So Fox sat, and stared at the night.

Grey zoomed in, and focused on the figure. He was totally relaxed. Not an enemy in the universe. The straight road that ran past was empty. There were no other lights within radar, let alone screaming distance. The perfect stage.

He put the binoculars aside, and started rummaging through the storage compartment, gathering what he needed.

A blaster, some rope, and a blindfold. That should be enough. He put his tools into a small pack, threw it over his shoulder, and started walking.

First, Grey went to the camera. It was imbedded in a small tapered rod of metal, which was screwed four inches into a convenient tree trunk. It seemed no worse for wear, so he took it. There'd be nothing to see in a few hours. Then he had another look at the house.

James son was still there; sprawled just behind the open door, fast asleep. Even better.

James had drawn the graveyard shift. While Peppy and Pigma slept soundly, James was in front steering the formation toward Santos. With most small fleets, there was no need to control the ships at all until combat started, but James hadn't gotten around to writing a complete autopilot program. So, for this mission, all that could be done was to set the autopilot to 'follow' and have someone stay up late. Still, it gave James some time to think. And there was plenty to think about.

For example, this 'Grey' character. Who ever he was, he was most definitely in the pay of Andross. The warning couldn't have come from anyone else. James just prayed that they were watching closely enough to draw their attention away from everyone else. He hoped he had gauged 'Grey' correctly, because other wise, there could be complications. He had to be following them, because other wise he could ambush them. Oh well. At least Fox was safe, and on a transport to the most secure planet in Lylat.

There were three sets of burns in the grass. Grey couldn't see them, but the stink of jet fuel and charcoal was practically fluorescent. Grey quietly moved up to the back door, but it was locked, so he began making his way around the outside. In the pitch darkness, he was all but invisible. He came to a patch of recently turned earth leading out of the house. Odd. Maybe James had had a cellar filled in or something.

Grey came to a window that was lit from within, and had a peek inside. There was a single lantern on the bench, and a sleeping figure just inside the open door. He pulled back into the shadows, and eased the blaster out of his pack. Then, with any more hesitation, he strode up to the front door.

The kid was snoring pretty loudly. This was way too easy.

"Sorry about this kid…" Said Grey, and he trained the blaster on his forehead. He bent down to wake him up and- the crunch of gravel split the air. Some one else was here!

With out a second thought, Grey leapt over the prone form and dashed into the next room, then hid behind the door and listened.

There was a slight pause, then a click as a door opened.

Far off, and very quiet, there was a high female voice. Only one. She'd have to die.

"…So any way, yeah. I know! It was like, so the wrong thing to say. And she said it in front of him! I know, crazy, huh? Well, I've gotta go, I'm really late as is. Call ya back when I'm done, ok? Bye!"

Damn. She was expected. This would give him less time to get away. Especially if he was dragging an adult sized kid with him.

"Oh! What do we have here! You must be… what was it… Fox! That's it. Well. Aren't you cute? I could just eat you up! Oh well. Come on, wake up!"

"Wha… Who… Who are you?"

Oh well. So much for plan A.

"I'm Kathleen! I'm here to drive you to your transport! Come on, lock up. We have to get there before they leave with out us!"

"Oh… Right. Aren't you a little late?"

"No! Of course not! I'm never late!"

"But…"

"Unless I'm held up by slow boys who don't lock up when I ask them, that is."

"Oh. Yeah. I'll be right back."

There was a pause, then the boy walked right into the room. Now was his chance!

A ginger cat poked it's head through the open doorway. Grey could see it through the crack between the door and the wall. He should act now! But instead of jumping out, Grey remained perfectly still.

"Wow! This is a nice house!"

"It's alright."

"It's a little dirty though. Why is the floor in the next room covered with dirt?"

"Oh! We… uh… had a… workshop down there. And dad had it filled in."

Why wasn't Grey acting? He knew he should, but he didn't want to. What if the women had a partner? Yeah. It was too dangerous. He couldn't risk it. That was it.

"Well, Is that all?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

"Ok. Let me just tell them we're coming."

The two of them walked through the door, and one of them pulled it shut after them. Grey stared into the suddenly dark room, disbelieving. Another slam came, and a key turned in a lock. A few moments later, a motor started, then faded.

Fifteen minutes and a broken window later, Grey lifted off. The kid had slipped through, by the barest of margins. That meant he could only follow James, and wait for an opportunity. Oh well.

Grey plotted a course for Santos, and blasted into the night.

Fox stared out the window. What a weird dream.

James watched as a green and blue planet grew gradually bigger.

A figure watched.


	13. Chapter xiii

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. No orbital status. 1400h SST.

James had the seat well back, and was snoring loudly. Peppy was leading the formation at the moment, still heading for Santos. The planet in question looked quite large now, and it wouldn't be long before they hit orbit.

Pigma however, wasn't asleep. He was running the flight sim again.

_A barrage of lasers and enemies hurtled towards him._

This again. This was where he had died last time. Pigma rolled, then pulled hard right, bringing most of the fighters behind him. Instead of looping straight away, Pigma u-turned twice to give the mass more time to pass. Then, he opened fire.

The hit counter started going crazy, and Pigma laid waste to the enemy. One bomb, two… This time, there was no way he could lose.

Pigma put holes in the last fighter, and the screen blacked out.

'_Mission accomplished!'_ flashed on the screen, followed by his hits. Well, he had broken his own record by 50.

'_Saving now… … … ..-error. Total system falure._

"Aww what?" Yelled Pigma, and he hit the control. "You have to be kidding."

'_Restarting.'_ came up on the monitor, and then the screen went dark. And stayed dark.

"Damn it. Stupid James, making my system crash." Muttered Pigma, and he turned the screen back on manually.

But instead of the desktop, there was a stream of numbers:

320 010 074 428 046 602 092 105 407 706 086 943 721 522 963 464 092 001 983 249 237 045 334 416 369 143 53

"What the…" It looked like gibberish. But… there was something familiar about it.

The moment Pigma recognised it, it disappeared, leaving a blank screen reflecting Pigma's horrified expression.

"Oh my god…"

"Ok guys, we're just about to hit orbit. Wake up."

"_I'm already awake. How's James?"_

"Sleeping like the dead. James! Up and at 'em!"

"_Ten more minutes…"_

Peppy sighed. "Pigma? Would you do the honors?"

"_With pleasure."_ Said Pigma, and he broke formation. He drifted up next to James and slid his wingtip under James's.

"James. Wake up. Or else."

"_Go away."_

Peppy nodded to Pigma.

Pigma barrel rolled viciously, spinning James's arwing like a top.

"_Aaaahhhh! What the hell!?"_ Yelled James, as the arwing continued to revolve. _"Ohhh…Funny guys. Real classy."_

"Teach you not to wear a seat belt, at least."

"_Yeah yeah."_ Said James, and he righted the arwing. _"Oh hey! We're here! Why didn't anyone say so?"_

"But we-" _"Oh whatever. Now, do you all know what to do?"_

"_Slingshot. It's not that hard."_

"Right. This is the most fuel efficient way of getting to Venom."

"_Just follow my lead."_ Said James, and he boosted off.

Two dice clattered on a table.

"Five and one! One more round to me and then you'll lose… well, I'll decide when the time comes."

"But I-"

"No but's! Now roll!"

The young monkey gulped. He really, _really_, shouldn't have made that challenge.

A large ape glared at him from across the table, and watched as he gingerly picked up the little cubes. After a moment's hesitation, he tossed them up.

They hung in the air for a second, then clattered down on the table. Two-four.

"Well well. I win again." Said the big Ape, and he produced a knife from nowhere.

"He-hey! Can't we talk about this!"

"Ok then. Give me every cent you have and, then I'll only cut you a little."

"What?!"

"Wrong answer. Oh, this is going to be fun."

"Oh sh-"

"_System breach ya scum! Everyone get to a fighter!"_

The big ape looked up from his handy work.

"Oops. My hand slipped. Oh well. Hope we won't need him."

The planet floated serenely past. James was gliding now, upside down, letting the planet pull him along. It was the only way to travel.

"I bet that Fox would love this." He said, looking up at the green and blue blob.

"_You know, he probably would."_

"Well, whatever. I might bring him here sometime."

"_James! Would you stop thinking about your kid for one second? Seriously!"_

"_Pigma? What's up with you? You've been touchy for a while now."_

"_Nothing's up with me. And can we hurry up already? This place gives me the creeps."_

"There's nothing to worry about. Cornerian intelligence says that this place is deserted."

'_Incoming call'_

"Huh? Who could that be?" Said James, and he opened the channel.

"_Attention losers! You have entered my domain! Prepare for death!"_

"_What? This planet is supposed to be unoccupied!"_ Yelled Peppy over the laughter of many. _"What gives!?"_

"_Good bye trespassers! Nice blowin' ya! Heh. 'blowin ya'. That's a goodn'."_

After a few seconds pause, Pigma ventured: _"We're being threatened by a semi literate idiot?"_

"Well, I don't see a threat…"

Beep. Beep beep. Bebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebeb-

There was a wall of targets on the radar. Hundreds of fighters were breaking through the thick clouds below, maybe 1500 meters away.

James's brain kicked in. "Peppy, to my left! Pigma, Right! Keep them off me! The only way we'll stop that many is to take out their leader!"

"_But who's in charge of them? And who are they?!"_

"Let's find out!"

The first wave arrived.

James charged a shot. The first of the fighters was almost in range. Without further hesitation, he accelerated forward.

The radar went silent, and the planet beneath him spun. James pumped the trigger, catching the first three in a single explosion. The next one managed to get a shot off before disappearing into fire. James swerved hard, and chased after one of the fighters on the edge of the combat zone. His sight flashed with laser fire, as first one, then two then five fighters were blown away. One of them managed to slip past James, and swung round behind him, only to be blown away by Peppy.

"_Yaahhhhhh! Die!"_ He yelled, and he sprayed lasers wildly.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Yelled James, swerving as Peppy missed him by inches.

The arwing was making the rest of the fighters look second class. James cut through the main throng of them once, then twice, blasting them to pieces.

Suddenly, Pigma zoomed by James, perused by a swarm of fighters. _"Woah! Help!"_

James peeled off to the left, and cut a path to Pigma. "Hold still!" He yelled, and he shot past Pigma, straight into the followers. There was a mass of explosions, then he emerged through the other side.

"_Thanks James. I'll remember this."_

"No problem!" Yelled James, as he corkscrewed through another small swarm. "Just don't let it happen aga- What the…"

"_What?"_

"It's nothing. Nevermind."

There were a lot less fighters now, and those that were left were starting to get cold feet.

"_Wargh! That's it, I'm outta here!"_ Yelled one pilot, as the rest of his team exploded.

"Missed him. Oh well. Guys? How're you fairing?"

"_I'm fine!"_

"_Me too!"_

"Right. Let's leave these losers here and go on an attack run!"

The arwings broke through the last line of fighters, leaving the slower ships behind.

A small group of modern fighters was waiting in between the planet and them, the half a dozen of them looking slightly more menacing than all the five hundred fighters behind them.

James accelerated forward, singling out one of them, at the cost of two behind him.

The ship in front absorbed three hits before it went down, repaid by his fellows by half a dozen straight into James's shield.

"Damn! Peppy!"

"_I'm busy! Take care of him Pigma!"_

"_Oh do I have to do everything?"_ Said Pigma, and he wiped out both ships in two shots. _"There. Now don't bug me."_

The enemy was left far behind, as James hit the clouds, followed closely by Peppy and Pigma.

The world went white, then James burst out of the clouds, thousands of meters above a lush rainforest.

"Now. Where's their base?"

"_It can't be too far… Let's split up and look for it."_

"Right. I'll take the clearing down there. That has to be recent. Pigma, try the thinner part of the jungle. Peppy, have a look for anything big and metallic in the sky. We don't want any flagships messing up our party."

"_Ok!"_

"_No problem!"_

Peppy hung back, while Pigma boosted off in the general direction of the thin patch.

James watched as his wingmen disappeared of radar.

A new connection opened. _"Well. That was unexpected."_

"I just wanted to have a chat… Grey."

"_I'm impressed that you spotted me."_

"I saw you sneaking past while we were fighting the rabble."

"_Well, come here, and then we'll… chat."_

"And while you're at it, you can tell me who's running this place."

"_Oh we'll see about that."_


	14. Chapter xiv

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Santos. 3:00 PM.

( boosted forward. Hundreds of meters below him, a small metallic speck hovered above the ground. James loosed a few shots at it, but they dissipated long before they hit. This seemed to amuse Grey.

"_Is that all? Ha!"_ He said. _"Looks like I have nothing to worry about."_

James just grinned to himself. This guy had attitude.

A sensor went off on James panel, at almost the same time as a light flashed in front of Grey. Two radars beeped.

Grey exploded forward, straight at the rapidly approaching James. The world around them blurred and they both blasted away at each other. James scored a direct hit, but Grey caused only minor damage.

"_Damn it!"_ Yelled Grey. That arwing had his ship dead to rights. It was too fast. Lucky he'd been prepared.

James levelled out a few meters above the ground.

"What's that you said? 'Nothing to worry about'?"

"_I wouldn't get complacent. Watch this."_

Even at the speed James was travelling, he saw the turret flash by. For the brief moment he saw it, he also saw it was powering up. That wasn't good.

Grey laughed as a stream of plasma started spewing out at James. Then he pulled a U-Turn and went on the offensive.

The arwing shook as it absorbed the beating that was being rained upon it. In desperation, James pulled into a stall, barrel rolling as fast as he could as he ascended.

He started putting some distance between himself and the turret, but then Grey swooped in and also started to punish him.

James knew he was yelling under the sound of the incoming fire. His shield's were dropping too fast. His ship was starting to give out.

As a last ditch effort, James cut the engine.

Grey knew that he had won, when James suddenly plummeted out of the sky.

The world span for James, as the arwing back flipped lazily toward the ground. He had to time this perfectly. Just a few meters from the ground, he pushed the engine back up to full power. He stopped falling and launched toward the turret, flying upside down. He could see that the turret had been too slow to track his fall, and was still aiming at the sky. Without a second's hesitation, he launched a bomb at it, then rolled away.

Grey had followed James down, but he was still descending when the bomb detonated. The blast threw him out of his flight path, and sent him spiralling toward the ground. Grey pulled up just in time, but the damage was done.

The place where the turret had been was now a smoking hole, and James was on the other side, charging his weapon.

"Nice try Grey. No more tricks."

"_Well, now I have the advantage, at least."_

"Like hell." Said James coldly, and he started forward.

This time, James didn't rush. Despite being badly damaged, he was calm, lining up each shot before taking it.

Grey ate two charged shots before he could close the gap between himself and James. Then, he only got a few shots off before James started to retreat.

The arwing was too fast to keep up with, so he simply fell behind until James turned and started blasting him again.

"_Gah! Stop running away!"_

James simply kept going.

Grey was worried now. James's ship was visibly damaged, with sparks playing off its surface, but his wasn't much better. He had to think of something, and fast.

James turned again, and went to finish Grey off, when Grey did the unthinkable.

"_No! Stop. I surrender."_

(end music)

Grey's ship was badly damaged. It couldn't possibly take any more. But Grey had surrendered, so James couldn't just blow him out of the sky. Still, James smelt a rat.

"Alright. Then tell me. Who's in charge here?"

"_Some stupid monkey."_

"And how'd he get to be in charge?"

"_How should I know?"_

James just charged a shot. He didn't bother with words.

"_Uh… ok! Just don't shoot! The guy you're hunting, he organised this."_ /I 

"And you know this how?"

"_I also work for him."_

James thought about that one for a second. That meant that Andross was definitely on to him. If he was actively trying to prevent James from getting to venom, then there'd be more resistance where this came from.

"Ok. What else have you done for Andross?"

Grey grinned. This was his chance. One good shot while James was distracted, and he'd come tumbling down.

"Well, he had me spy on you for a long time."

That much was true.

"I told him what I saw, and he gave me orders based on that."

True, also.

"He knows things about you that even you don't know."

Here came the gamble.

"_Oh? Like what?"_

"Like the fact that your son was alone for five hours after you left Gaia."

"_Yeah, right."_

"No! Really! The person you had pick him up came very late. Too late."

James's mind went blank. All of a sudden, all he could see was his son.

"_He was asleep."_

_Fox lay prone on the floor…_

"_He looked so innocent."_

_A dark figure standing over his son…_

"_He was quite shocked when he woke up."_

_Fox's eyes flicked open. A hand came down, and there was a muffled scream._

"_He fought like a child possessed."_

_A brief struggle…_

"_I had to drug him to keep him quiet. Especially after I killed that girl."_

_Fox hung limply over his shoulder, whimpering softly._

"_There's not much room in the storage compartment. I hope he's still ok."_

Something in James's mind snapped.

Grey could see, even from this distance, that James was shaking. Good. The bluff had worked.

"So you can't just shoot me down. I'd hate for you to be responsible for the death of your own son."

"_You…"_

"If you land and get on the ground, I might let him go. Maybe."

"_Bastard…"_

"Now land."

"_I'LL KILL YOU! YOU MOTHER F BASTARD! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_ Yelled James, and he loosed the charged shot. Not at Grey, but at the ground in front of him. There was a small explosion of dirt, then James appeared through it.

Grey had only a fraction of a second to react.

"Oh s-"

James rammed straight into him.

There was a screech of metal on metal, and Grey's ship was tossed to the ground. James span the arwing into a roll, popped the cockpit open, and flung himself clear.

He landed heavily, but on his feet, and the arwing ploughed into the dirt behind him, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The arwing balanced on its side for a moment, then landed back on its belly.

James barely stopped moving. He sprinted up to the half buried wolven, blaster in hand.

Pigma stepped through a rusted metal hatch, blaster first. The watch house was empty, just like the last two, but this one had a shiny new metal hatch in the middle of the floor.

Pigma walked up to it, and poked it gingerly with a toe. It didn't budge. He tapped it harder. It rang hollowly. This one definitely led somewhere.

There was no handle, but after a few hard kicks, and loud swearing, it turned out that it slid to one side.

As the hatch opened, a single light came on beneath. It illuminated a dozen stairs, after which the darkness was absolute.

Well, he'd come this far.

With only a slight hesitation, he stepped down, and walked slowly into the dark.

There was a slight pause, then it slid back. There was a click, then soft laughter.

( was nothing. Corridors filled with red light stretched out forever.

The hatch had been securely locked by something. Every skylight had bars over it, and every door was locked. There was even some sort of interference, so Pigma couldn't contact James or Peppy. He was alone on this one.

Pigma trudged down another red corridor. The doors were locked tight, the only openings being the one behind him, and the one in front of him. Pigma was pretty sure that he had been down this corridor before.

There had to be an exit somewhere. All he had to do was find one. It couldn't be too hard. Maybe that corpse could give him some di… rec… tions?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Yelled Pigma, and he started running back the way he had come, only to have the hatch at the end of the corridor shut on him. He wrenched at the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

Pigma cursed, and kicked the door. This was James's fault. Somehow.

He drew his blaster, and slowly approached the dark shape at the other end of the corridor. This one was a monkey, staring sightlessly at the other wall. There was blood spattered on the wall, with more down the monkey's front. He didn't seem to have any wounds, so something else must have killed him.

Pigma gingerly stepped over one of the corpses legs. The hatch at the end of this corridor was slightly ajar. Pigma pushed it open, trying not to look behind him.

The door only swung half open. And there was more blood on it.

"Oh… ." Said Pigma, as another hand flopped down from behind the door.

And down the next hall, there were dozens more bodies…

Pigma stepped in to the bloody corridor. And the hatch closed behind him. Again.

_The figure bent over his screen._

"_Do you like my handy work Pigma? I did it just for you."_

_There was a chuckle. Oh well. Now, it was time to start. The Plan was about to be set in motion._

_He clicked a few buttons, then spoke._

"_Dr Andross. I have a gift for you. I'll patch you through to him."_

The corpses. And the blood. They had all died, running, choking on their own fluids. Poisoned. Gassed.

The smell was still there, faint but unmistakeable. It clung to the nostrils.

Pigma stepped over two rats lying on top of each other, when there was a sound. A breath.

"Who's there?" He asked, holding his blaster out in front of him.

"_Pigmaaaaaaaaaa…"_

"Who's there!?"

"_Don't you know me? I'm very familiar with you."_

Pigma wheeled around. Nothing, just more blood.

"Where are you!"

"_It doesn't matter. Don't you want to get out instead?"_

"Huh? …Yes! Ok! Get me out of here!"

"_There's no need to yell. And while I'm helping you, do you want me to solve your other problems as well?_

"Huh?"

"_Yes, those problems."_

"But how can you-"

"_Like I said, I know all about you."_

"Well then get me out of here!"

There was a click. The door behind Pigma opened slightly.

"Huh? …You were the one that locked me in here in the first place!"

"_No! Someone else did. I am setting you free. And don't worry, I am your friend. I will contact you again, and I will protect you from the person that sent you that message._

"You mean…?"

"…_yes. That message. Now, get out of here. I need you to do something for me when you get back to your arwing."_

"Wha…"

"_James is about to kill someone. You must stop him from becoming what the bounty says he is."_

"The bounty…"

"_Don't worry. All can be fixed. Now go."_

Pigma started at the ceiling for a few seconds, then he turned and pushed through the door. There was another body, and a window peeking out at ground level.

Pigma rushed past, and climbed out of the window. He didn't even see the physical wounds on the body. He didn't hear the hatch in the floor open. He didn't see a big monkey wearing a gas mask.

"_Ali. I want them all dead."_

(end music)


	15. Chapter xv

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Santos. 3:13 PM.

Tears were running down James's cheeks. He had failed Fox. The crash might have killed him. He might have already been dead. He could be stashed somewhere else, alone and afraid.

He might be dead.

James leapt up on the half buried wolven. The cockpit was cracked, and slightly open. He could see a figure lying face first on the control panel. Blaster in hand, he wrenched the cockpit open.

Grey moaned. That meant he was still alive.

James holstered his blaster and then grabbed Grey. Using all of his strength, he pulled him up and out, bringing him to eye level.

Grey opened one eye. The other was swelled shut, and blood was trickling down his face.

James pressed his face close to Grey's.

"_Where_ is my son?" He growled through gritted teeth.

"Don't know."

A blaster was put to Grey's temple.

"Where."

"Screw you."

"Wrong answer." Said James, and he clouted Grey over the top of the head. He then lifted him up, and unceremoniously dumped him sideways. Grey gasped as he hit the ground.

James lowered himself on to the seat, and wiped Grey's blood off the cracked computer screen.

"Flight log: Gaia."

There was a brief pause, then a list of times appeared. The last touchdown on Gaia had been two days ago, at 8:42. A couple of hours after he had left.

James sat and stared at the screen, with unfocused eyes. Then, he stood, and climbed slowly to the ground.

Grey coughed as James alighted by him.

James watched as Grey rolled on to his stomach, then got to his knees.

"Are you… going to… use that?" He said hoarsely, gesturing at the blaster that James was still gripping tightly.

James looked at his blaster, thought for a second, then using the last of his will, threw it as far as he could.

Then brutal instinct kicked in.

Grey almost had time to get to his feet, before James kicked him squarely in the chest and sent him sprawling.

Without a second hesitation, James was above him again, kicking him as hard and fast as he could.

"You fing Bastard!" He yelled, punctuating each word with a solid kick. "I'll kill you!"

Grey yelled as James's last kick connected, and there was a crunch. The sound made James stop, for just a second.

That was all Grey needed.

Before James knew what was happening, Grey lashed out at his knees, and over he went.

James rolled to his feet, but by then Grey was up and facing him. He'd recovered faster than James had thought.

They both paused for a second, then started circling each other.

James could see that he was hurt, but he was bigger and stronger by far. He looked nothing like a pilot. More like a martial artist.

Grey studied James. Grey's rib was broken, he could tell that much. His head was aching badly too, and he had a bad feeling about his left eye, which wouldn't open. But despite all this, James looked like a lightweight. One good hit and he'd go down.

James shifted his weight a little. Grey rocked back on his heels.

Grey moved first.

Pigma sighed as his arwing finally left the ground. The red corridors already seemed like a dream. But the blood on his boots was all too real. He had to stop James.

Pigma set the arwing to hover, and scanned for James's arwing. The signal was there, but it was strange. It was very faint, like it was underground or something…

"_Pigma? Oh thank god!"_ Came Peppy's voice.

"Peppy? Where are you?"

An arwing blasted by, coming dangerously close to Pigma's. It was pretty beaten up.

"_They're your problem now!"_

"Huh?" Said Pigma, to the rapidly disappearing Peppy. "They?"

"_Come back here you coward!"_ Came a voice, and dozens of fighters started sweeping past Pigma. _"Outta the way loser!"_

Pigma stared as the last of them swept by. Then, never one to question fate, he started off after them.

James dropped to his knees, gasping and clutching his stomach. Grey stood and watched him as he struggled to get back up. James finally got to his feet, and swayed a little.

Grey steadied James's head, then punched him hard. James went down like a tree falling.

James slowly got to his knees again.

"Why not just stay down?" Asked Grey as James staggered to his feet.

"Because… you're _going_ to tell me where Fox is damnit!" Exclaimed James, and he lunged again.

Grey met him halfway, burying his knee in James's gut. Then, he bodily lifted James up, and tossed him to the ground.

He stalked up to James, and put one foot on his chest to stop him from rising again.

James stopped struggling, and fell back, gasping for air.

"See? Isn't that so much-"

James's foot whipped out.

Crunch.

Grey teetered, then fell next to James.

Things had spiralled out of control.

Pigma had gotten side tracked, damn him, and James and Grey were beating each other to death.

This was most inconvenient. His last hope was that Ali provided enough of a distraction. The monkey might even get lucky and live.

But before that, something had to give.

James's head was ringing softly. He was dimly aware of pain, and danger. He knew Grey was beside him. He just wanted to sleep.

The sun was shining, and the wind was blowing.

_Soft long grass framed the turquoise sky._

His son was nearby. The grass was soft.

James nearly passed out. At the edges of reason, he found another image. A picture.

Fox asleep, and Grey hovering over him.

Grey groaned, and tried not to rub his privates.

James was beside him, and all he needed to do was roll over and start punching. James was still stunned it seemed.

"Fox!" Said James, and he sat up sharply.

Well, that wasn't good.

Grey also tried to sit, up, but before he got halfway, James was on top of him.

"This is the last time I'm going to ask. Where's Fox?"

Grey slowly started moving a hand toward his belt. There was a small knife hidden there, and James was holding conveniently still.

James's eyes narrowed, and he pulled back a fist. This was going to hurt.

Grey felt the knifes handle.

Something beeped.

James eyed Grey, wary of a trap. He shifted a foot, pinning Grey's hand to the ground, and out of reach of his knife.

James's phone was lying on the ground, a few meters away. It started rattling of a message.

"_Hey Dad, It's Fox. I thought I'd give you a call before we left the phone service here. I'm fine, but everyone's a little angry still because the stupid girl that picked us up was so late. Oh well. Anyway, talk to you soon!"_

James and Grey stared at each other.

There was a long pause.

"Well s."

James's mind cleared. He remember Fox coming home from learning martial arts, and showing him how to knock a man unconscious. He had been so proud.

James shoved two fingers into Grey's neck, and twisted. Grey went limp.

James regarded him for a second, then he rose, and trudged off in the direction of his gun. He only had one, and Grey certainly didn't need it.

The figure watched. And blinked. The universe worked in strange ways. Now the rest of the local militia could die.

Perfect.

Pigma blasted through the last of the fighters, with Peppy's help. The last metal hull fell to the ground.

"_Thanks Pigma!"_

"No problem. How'd you end up with that many people chasing you?"

"_Would you believe they snuck up on me?"_

Pigma regarded Peppy's arwing balefully.

"Weren't you supposed to be looking out for them?"

"_I was! But I saw this big… thing in the water, and I went to investigate. Forgot all about the guys we left behind in the outer atmosphere."_

"Thing?"

"_Some sort of flagship. Big, and submersible. I couldn't tell what it was."_

"Right. And it didn't attack?"

"_Nope. Just floated there. No pilot."_

"Strange…"

"_Hey. Where's James?"_

"I dunno. I was looking for their base and… Oh… No…"

"_What?"_

Pigma didn't even answer. He just blasted off.

Peppy stared. Then, he started following him.

A hatch closed, and was screwed shut. A small metallic island shuddered, then disappeared.

James kicked in the stabilisers, and his arwing slowly lifted off. The shields were low, one of the wings was slightly bent, and it was very, very dirty, but other than that, it was ok.

Grey's ship was still half buried, but it would fly.

"Should I have let him live though?" James asked himself.

Something inside him said yes.

The radar beeped, and Pigma appeared on the horizon.

"_DON'T DO IT JAMES!"_

"Do what?"

Pigma throttled right back, coming to a jolting halt next to James. He looked at James's arwing, blinked, then deflated a little.

"_Don't… uh…leave without us."_

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

Peppy cruised up behind them, and stopped more gracefully.

He eyed the various dints and scrapes on James's craft, and the crashed ship below.

"_Just what have you been up to?"_

"I saw someone following us. I took care of it."

"_Yes, I can see that. Did you find out who he was before you shot him down?"_

"He was working for Andross. That means Andross knows we're coming."

"_How'd he find out? The only one's that know we're here are the General, the AC government, and a few people in the cornerian military."_

"I don't know. But we have to move on to avoid any more opposition Andross might send."

"_Ok. But there's one thing I have to show you guys first"_

Three arwings hovered over the water.

"So where's this ship you were talking about?"

"_I don't understand! It was right here!"_

"Well, lets go. There's nothing here now."

"_Wait, what's that?"_ Asked Peppy, gesturing at a darker patch.

James squinted, and tried to make out the shape. It was like a big fish. And getting bigger…

"OUT OF THE WAY! MOVE!"

The three arwings scrambled.

Something broke the water.

A massive mechanical alligator reared up out of the water.

A dozen sets of missile launchers were visible, bristling out of it's back, and the open mouth had a massive primary cannon.

A deranged voice crackled on the speakers, and a rather unattractive monkey appeared on James's monitor.

"Star Fox, meet Ali-gator."


	16. Chapter xvi

Alpha Centuri B. Alpha Centuri outpost. Santos. 3:34 PM/_Unknown._

The figure watched the drama unfold. There was only one front to organise now. This made life easier.

A small screen displayed a small picture of three arwings circling slowly around Aligator.

The figure smiled. Such fun.

Another screen displayed a far away view of a crash site. A small shape was all that was visible of… _Him_.

The figure knew full well that _he_ was suffering right now. It gave the figure utmost pleasure. It was just as well that James hadn't killed him. He had so much to suffer yet.

Grey's mind blurred. He knew that he was awake, in some small way, but that seemed far off and unreal. Like that was the dream. James had…

He…

**Grey.** Came a thought

Huh? Who's that?

**You don't know?**

Why should I?

**Interesting. You have forgotten.**

What? Who are you?

**I'm you. Who else could I be?**

Me?

**Yes. And we haven't talked in some time. Since you became 'Grey'. If memory serves correctly.**

Grey… You're… Not Grey?

**No. My name will never be Grey.**

_In the real world, Grey's body shuddered._

**Wasn't it even a little strange that you didn't feel guilty anymore? I enjoyed the hunt, but you revel in it, and make it everything. You forget that each person has a face. And behind each face is a story.**

Everyone…

**You remember what guilt and compassion are like, but you can't bring yourself to feel them. So I will teach you. I started a long time ago, trying to reach you. And now; You're mine.**

Grey felt an alien presence grab hold of his consciousness. It started to drag him down, away from the world of the living.

Screaming inside, Grey descended into his own mind.

A single lily floated down the perfect river. It had been severed from the bank, but showed no sign of giving up hope, drifting along until it finally found land and shelter again. It knew, in some unfathomable way, that all things returned home. Sure, 'home' was back up river, but you made your own home. You can't float back upstream after all. What's gone is gone.

James didn't waste another second.

"_I hate to do this to you guys, but I'll sit this one out. I'm way too low on shields to make it."_

"No problem James! Pigma and I will handle this! You can watch while we take names!" Said Peppy, as James banked away.

"_Peppy! Get behind me and I'll cover you!"_

"Thanks Pigma!"

"_Are you guys done planning yet?"_ Said Ali, and the Gator yawned exaggeratedly.

"Not yet. Wait a sec." Said Peppy, and he turned and winked at Pigma.

"_Huh? Wait… Why you little-!"_ Ali managed, and he crouched, then leapt up and forward.

Peppy looked up at Gator, then hit the throttle and shot forward, flying under him as he catapulted forward, with Pigma straight behind him. Gator hit the water with a huge splash, and submerged.

"_Gah! Ok, that's it wiseguy! You're going down!"_

The universe drifted past Fox serenely. The millions of lights reflected off of the mirror at the back of the room, and again on the glass, making the show even more spectacular.

Fox had a top quality room located on the very bottom of the cruiser. However, even with various trappings of splendour, it was still painfully obvious that it had once been a gym. And there wasn't enough air freshener in the known universe to completely eradicate the smell of a handful of people on a 16 hour workout blitz.

The small cruiser had only a few passengers, but charged highly and the service was excellent. It even came with free protection, a must in today's volatile society.

Fox smiled. If there had been another cruiser on Gaia that had been cheaper whilst still being legal, he would be on that. It was surprising that he hadn't had to make the trip in a wooden box in the cargo hold.

Fox shifted on the soft bed. It was too much. He missed his old bed already.

That was it, really. There was less travel available these days. To get anywhere, you had to do it yourself. Or pay a mercenary an obscene amount.

War made for strange bedfellows. And beds.

Wedge also regarded the stars. The view was obscured by a full technical readout and several monitors though. But beyond the clutter, there was a planet. Santos.

"I know." He said to the cramped darkness. "I promised. Never again. But this is for you, not anyone else."

Smoke and ash floated by, as well as a few empty hulls, remnants of a battle James couldn't have possibly lost.

"James. Why couldn't you be content?"

James took a breath as Peppy and Pigma shot out from underneath Ali. That was too close.

"_Gah! Ok, that's it wiseguy! You're going down!"_ Came a taunt, and the enemy submerged.

James switched to thermal vision, and watched as the hot machine cooled to water temperature.

"Ok guys, he's gone to the left, but I can't see him any more."

"_Thanks!"_

The last of the ripples subsided, and Ali didn't re-surface.

Ten seconds passed, and James began to worry. Something was wrong.

Twenty seconds. Thirty.

"_Where'd he go?"_ Asked Peppy, as he scanned the water anxiously.

"_Maybe he got scared."_

One minute. The water was calm.

Peppy loosed a few shots into the water. There was nothing.

"Maybe he really did get scared…"

"_Heheheh…"_

James opened his mouth to ask what was so funny, but he never got the chance.

The water under him exploded, and the world lurched. With barely a second to react, he was pulled under.

Grey remembered.

Without a sound, he fell through the air. The dark surface of a sleeping planet rushed up to meet him.

There was a house, with a single light on. It seemed very familiar.

Grey plummeted headlong towards it.

**This is what could have been, had I not stepped in.**

Grey knew what was about to happen. It had been the plan. For a brief moment, his own actions made sense.

His fall slowed, and Grey landed lightly on his feet, in front of James's house. The kid was standing at the doorway, seemingly unperturbed by Grey's entrance. Then, he spoke.

"**Let's just see what happens now, shall we?**"

Grey stared at the figure, not knowing what to say.

Without another word, the figure sat down and leant against the frame of the door. He yawned, and then slumped a little further.

Grey recognised the position. He turned, and saw the faintest glimpse of what looked like light reflecting off of a set of binoculars. A slight pause later, a small compartment light flicked on in the distance. Grey could almost see himself pulling things out of his wolven.

He turned to say something, but the figure was already asleep.

That wasn't good.

James shook his head and looked around in a daze. There was a small pool of water at the top of the cockpit, which was pressed up against a large brown something. There was a faint sizzling, which turned out to be his communicator which had gotten wet. He picked if off, and let it go. It fell up. There was a vague suggestion through the shellshock that there was something wrong with that.

Pigma stared at the ripples in the water. There was no movement, no James bursting to the surface.

"_..."_ Said Peppy. There wasn't much else to say.

"James? You there?" Asked Pigma hopefully.

There was no response, until:

"_One down, two to go! That seems fairer, doesn't it?"_

"James..."

"_It was nice of him to float there. Maybe you guys can wait around for me too!"_

The monitor displaying James and Peppy's stats blinked. James's bar, which was completely empty, disappeared. A message reported a loss of contact.

A few bubbles reached the surface, and a dark shape became visible. Pigma snapped into action, with Peppy not far behind.

AliGator surfaced, ready to kill, to be greeted by nothing. There was no-one there.

"_Huh? …I'm getting sick of nothing happening…"_ He mumbeled absently, and looked around.

There was nothing but a slight breeze and a whistling noise.

…

The water heaved under the force of the explosion, sending Ali flying.

Pigma, with Peppy in tow, swooped out from the glare of the sun and rained hell on the flailing mass that was AliGator.

"_Yaaaaahhhh!!!"_

Grey had tried to wake the kid/thing to no avail, and then had tried to wake himself with similar results. Try as he might to convince himself otherwise, he didn't feel like he was sleeping, so he couldn't wake up.

The only thing left was to wait. But for what?

He had hesitated before. He had had a clear opportunity, but he had stopped, and had ended up getting his ass kicked by James. He hadn't understood why he had had doubts. Now it made more sense.

This 'Other Grey' must have interfered. With him safely asleep and not saying things that made no sense, Grey was no longer assaulted with strange feelings and a nameless guilt. The same strange feelings that had assaulted him at the critical moment.

But then again, it had been a new low. Kidnapping was an area that Grey had avoided. It was a little too… personal.

Behind Grey, NotGrey flicked one of Fox's ears to the sound of Grey's thoughts. It was already beginning to work.

Grey sighed, and stood. He looked to the clearing where the wolven would be parked, but saw no lights. That meant that another him was sulking around somewhere.

There was a small crunch.

Grey wheeled around to find a sinister shadow hiding by the window. It was him.

Then, in departure from memory and sanity, the other him winked.

"Hopefully I can finish the job properly this time. Then he won't bother us again."

Grey stared and tried to say something, but no sound came out. He tried again, but there was nothing. He was suddenly physically unable to speak.

The other Grey noticed Grey straining to make a noise, and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, but you can't interfere now. Don't you just hate dreams where you can't talk?" He said, and then smirked. Then he dropped back a little, flattened against the wall and continued sneaking towards the open door way.

Grey suddenly felt very helpless. Things were out of his control now.

Helpless.

The sound of dripping water had eventually brought James to his senses. The odds were stacked against him.

His shields were at 1. The critically small field exposed parts of the aircraft, which was why Ali had torn holes in his ship. Holes which were letting water into the cockpit.

James eyed the water nervously. It was almost touching his ears, and was rising steadily. There was no way out of the bottom of the ship, and the top was firmly stuck in the mud. To make matters worse, the propulsion system didn't function underwater. If he survived, James was going to convert some spare parts into a submarine.

That was a big if though. James just hoped that Pigma and Peppy hurried.

"Go round to the left! Hurry!" Yelled Pigma, and he banked hard.

AliGator rose from the water, dented scratched and worn, but still dangerous. He flailed at the air where Peppy and Pigma had been. When he established that neither of his targets were there, he about turned and lunged toward Peppy, who had come around for another attack.

"_Gah!"_ He yelled, as his shield stopped the claws inches from the glass of the cockpit and forced to craft to rock violently.

The momentum carried Peppy past danger, and he shook his head to regain his rattled wits.

Ali seemed to be full of energy, and impervious to their lasers. He was so heavy with armour that he could only jet hop, and not fly. It was an ungainly build, but the pilot made it dance through the water.

In desperation, Peppy loosed another of his precious bombs into Ali's chest, but was rewarded with only a small dint and a flying AliGator.

Pigma was also noticing his ineffectiveness.

"It's no good! We can't damage him enough!"

"_So you guys finally get it! You can't win. So surrender, and I'll rescue your team-mate!"_

"Huh?"

"_That other guy is still down there, stuck in the mud. I'd imagine he'd be getting a little wet with all the holes I tore in him."_

"_James is ok?"_

"Who cares!? We can rescue him after we beat this guy!"

"_But how? We can't damage him!"_

"_I think that's where I come in!"_ Came a new voice.

The sun blinked. The light flickered as something came from the skies, red with friction.

"Who the heck are you?"

"_Who the heck are you?"_

"_Who the heck are you?"_

"_I'm an old friend."_

The black spot flashed again, and the figure somersaulted slowly, landing heavily on it's feet. The impact shook the ground, and the figure was obscured by dust.

Peppy, Pigma and Ali stared at the newcomer, frozen in mid attack and dodge.

Pigma noticed the claws hovering over his head, and slowly edged his ship backwards.

The smoke cleared, and something stood up.

"A mech?"

Fox slept. Every now and then, something twitched, but apart from that, he was still.

Grey hung over him, seemingly suspended from above.

The other Grey, the real one, watched on. He gritted his teeth. Had he really hesitated this long?

The figure pulled a blaster from some unspecified location.

"**Sorry about this, kid..."** Came the words Grey remembered, but not from the right place. The kid had murmured them in his sleep.

Next, there would be a step. Grey remembered. He'd hear something, and he'd dive inside.

The figure reached down, and grabbed Fox's shirt. Without giving him a chance to react, he flipped him over, and put an arm behind his back. He knelt down, and pressed his blaster against the back of Fox's head.

"What the-"

"That cold thing is a blaster. Don't move a muscle."

Fox squirmed a little, but he was being held tight. "Falco, you ass, get off. I can't get up."

"I don't know any Falco. The name's Grey. Now stop moving."

"Grey? Come on, this isn't funny..." Said Fox, starting to sound apprehensive.

"Shut up. Put your other hand behind you." Said Grey, and he pulled some handcuffs from somewhere.

"Come on, get off me!" Said Fox, and he heaved himself onto his side. He caught sight of Grey, all cloak and weapon, and gasped. "Oh ."

"Yeah. Now stop."

", help! Oh god! Help m-"Said Fox, panicking, until Grey shoved him face first into the floor.

Fox struggled as Grey sat on top of him and calmly cuffed him.

"You keep squirming and I'll knock you out." Ha said uninterestedly. The he stood, and kicked Fox over onto his back.

Fox lunged for one of his legs, desperately trying to bite him, but he just kicked him in the head.

Fox fell back, blood streaming from his nose, crying.

"I told you to stay still." Said Grey, and he crouched down and pulled Fox up to his face again.

Fox shied away, cringing. "Please don't kill me!"

Grey laughed. It was a hollow sound.

"I'm not going to kill you. I'm just taking you to see your dad."

Fox gulped back the tears, and voiced a question. "My dad? What's he done?"

"Nothing. It's what he will do. Now, we're going for a ride. Are you going to be quiet, or will I have to gag you?"

Fox eye's widened, and he shut his mouth quickly.

"Good choice." Said Grey, and he heaved Fox up onto his feet.

"What the hell is going on here?" Came a female voice. The social worker was standing a few feet away, mobile still in hand.

Fox started forward, but Grey had a firm grip on him. Despite warnings to the contrary, he started to yell. "Look out! He has a-"

Grey fired. The noise blossomed out, and the woman jerked backwards.

Fox watched in slow motion as she fell. For the first time, he was afraid.

Grey could feel the fear coming off him in waves. He could feel the last fleeting glimpse of the woman's surprise. He could feel... satisfaction? The other Grey was regarding the corpse of the woman, and smiling? Grey could feel the rush of the hunt, the giddy thrill of being quicker and stronger... She had been unarmed and unaware.

Grey felt sick. He knew that that was what would have been. If he had had control over his body, or even a body at all, as he had just noticed a strange lack of one, he would have been sick.

Fox fell to his knees and looked at the dead body. He did what Grey couldn't.

Grey lifted him to his feet, and he swayed in place.

"Come on. We have places to be." He said, and he pushed an unresisting Fox out into the night.

Grey looked around the now empty front yard. The woman was very dead, her mobile buzzing faintly with an increasingly more hysterical voice of another person. The woman had had a family, and a life. Friends. A job. People depended on her everyday, and she had made families happier. And now she was dead.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. Then he started. Suddenly, he could talk, and had something to talk with.

**Come to the ship We're waiting.** came a thought. Grey took one last look at the place, and then trudged off after himself and his captive.

Wedge took in every detail. It had been a long time since he had fought.

The sun was glinting off of the river as it flowed past, Ali sticking out of the center, caught in mid swipe. Pigma and Peppy were backing away quietly while Ali was distracted. There looked to be a few dints and scratches on the surface of Gator, but it was obviously only skin deep. It would take more than plasma to break through that.

And somewhere under the water was James. That was the important bit. Always have a goal.

Wedge crouched, the mech around him mirroring the action almost instantly. Ali turned, and settled into a ready stance.

The water flowed past.

James surfaced in the small pocket of air at the bottom of the cockpit. He couldn't find his tools, and even if he did get a few panels off the bottom of the arwing before it filled up, it would only let in more water.

The general dull throb of battle had subsided over head, and no one had come to get him. That wasn't good.

This just hadn't been his day.

Wedge moved first.

There was an explosion of heat and he rocketed towards Ali, who swung wildly. At the last possible moment, Wedge lightly touched on the bank of the river, sending him in an arc above the flailing claws. He landed hard on Gator's head, forcing him down with a huge splash, then leapt upwards. Claws clanged where he had been standing, into which he unloaded a barrage of plasma from a portable cannon embedded in one arm. It just bounced off. Undeterred, he blasted Ali as he arched through the sky, dropping neatly between the startled Pigma and Peppy.

There were small screams from both of them as Wedge hit the water and submerged with a splash large enough to buffet them both. Ali shook himself and glared at the patch of bubbles, then dived forward and submerged as well.

Wedge sank to the bottom, and landed heavily in the mud. He looked up as Ali dived towards him, and leapt sideways as 20 tonnes of armour swept past him.

Wedge planted one arm into the mud, and slid to a stop upside down, blaster at the ready. However, when he went to return fire, nothing happened. Ali turned gracefully and started another pass.

Wedge looked at his useless blaster, then at Ali. Then he steadied himself, and waited for the rapidly approaching enemy.

There was a distorted clang as Ali slammed into Wedge. The force nearly sent Wedge reeling, but he recovered and dug his feet in harder, sliding along the riverbed holding onto the front of Gator.

He gradually ground to a halt. Ali strained and twisted, but Wedge held on hard until he gave up. Then Wedge pushed him down, until he was belly first on the mud.

"There... It's not so hard, right? All you have to do is st-"

Gator's mouth sprung open, flipping Wedge up and back, the he lunged up towards him. At the last moment, Wedge righted himself, to a view of rapidly closing teeth-

Another cling rang out, as Wedge held Gators mouth open, straining against huge pressure.

Just when Wedge thought he was going to live, he saw what was at the back of Gators mouth.

An orange light illuminated him briefly.

"Ohs-"

James breathed deeply as the water reached the bottom of his head, and submerged again.

He sank down a little, and resumed kicking at the only window that wasn't stuck in the mud. It was pointless, but James wasn't about to be nice and drown quietly.

There was an orange flash, and suddenly something was visible in the window, getting larger fast.

"Blurrgghh!" He exclaimed in a mass of bubbles, and he shielded his head.

Wedge sat up in a daze. Various readouts attested to the fact that lasers and water were bad for you, but he ignored them. Instead he focused on the cloud of mud he had just been ejected from, which was whirling ominously. It was no good. He needed something better. A weapon with more penetrating power. And he had just the thing...

He reached back to his stockpile of more exotic weapons, and hit something which had been floating behind him. He turned, to find James's badly beaten arwing revolving slowly from the blow.

"Oh, sorry James. Didn't see you." He said casually, and he righted the craft. The water in the cockpit stilled, and James floated up, gesturing to the surface.

"Sure. No problem." Said Wedge, and he heaved the craft upwards. As it broke the surface, Ali made his move. Wedge saw him coming, but it wasn't at him. He was going for James!

Wedge pulled something from behind him and leapt upwards, speeding towards James.

Peppy loosed the grapple, and fed it carefully down to James, until it magnetised to the arwing.

As he pulled it free of the water, the hatch opened, letting the water flood out. James burst from the water and gasped.

Peppy started to move towards the bank, trying to not spill James. He had just started to move when the water burst, Gator's huge bulk rising up behind them.

It towered over them, far too close to avoid. James and Peppy stared up in mute horror.

Wedge struck.

He erupted from the water in-between Ali and James, and kept rising. Something flashed, and Wedge swung as he flew past Gator's head. A few bits of teeth and a part of his bottom jaw flew away as Wedge fired up his engines and levelled off.

The blow propelled Gator backwards, and he lost his balance. Arms flailing wildly, he fell.

Wedge flourished a long plasma sword expertly, and then dropped down after Ali.

As Ali hit the water, Wedge hit Ali. He stabbed hard into Gator's midriff, and dragged it towards his head, opening a huge hole in his armour. With practiced ease, he bent one armour plate away, and tossed something inside. His weapon burnt out, its job done.

Wedge kicked Gator once, turned towards where Pigma and Peppy were landing near James and blasted off.

Ali righted himself, and stared after the retreating Wedge. He had expected more in the way of attacking.

"Uh... That right! You better run!"

Wedge just ignored him and fled.

As he shot by, he could see James gesturing wildly to Peppy and Pigma to get on the ground.

Ali pointed after him.

"Scaredy Bird!" He exclaimed, and he laughed. But then he noticed a slit near his arm. Which went across the majority of his front side. There was a buckled plate in the middle, and something was glowing underneath it.

"Huh? Oh... NO FAIR!" He screamed at the speck that was Wedge, and then he flashed from inside.

Whoomph.

A small screen winked out. The picture was replaced by static.

The figure regarded the static for a moment, then turned the screen off.

Good. Not how he had planned it, but good.

The figure turned his attention to another set of screens. Some were of an icy place, 10 meters deep with permafrost. Others showed vast fires, flares hundreds of millions of miles across. Anything could happen. So he'd better be prepared. Next time he would not fail.


End file.
